Abstracts Category : Other

Development of works procurement policy guidelines for a private tertiary institution: A case study of the Methodist University College Ghana

by Francis Kofi Maison

The large volumes of infrastructural works elevate to the fore the need to be particular about the procurement procedures for the acquisition of infrastructure. The private tertiary education industry in recent times has been financially challenged. One of such institutions is the Methodist University College Ghana. Low levels of student admissions have had a direct correlation with revenue projections and therefore the lack of a proper framework in the utilization of scarce funds toward physical development could have serious consequences. The study sort to develop policy guidelines for the Methodist University College Ghana to regulate the procurement of works. The specific objectives were to identify the procurement and contracting cycles in practice; and also to identify the construction procurement structures that exist in the University College. Data werecollected through questionnaire survey involving key officers in charge of the procurement of works in the institution. An analysis of existing procurement documentation was also undertaken using seven new management tools. The study found that there was the lack of a regulatory policy for construction procurement. There was the absence of an open competitive tendering process because key tender boards had not been constituted. As a result, poor contract management/administration and supervision, procurement reporting, monitoring and evaluation were the challenges the institution was faced with. The study therefore makes recommendations for the rationalisation of the procurement structures in the institution by the introduction of tender boards and distinctly laying out the requisite roles and responsibilities of all procurement functionaries. Guidelines are also proposed to aid in the preparation of a policy that covers generic tendering procedures, risk management, contracting and contract administration. A thesis submitted to the Department of Building Technology, College of Art and Built Environment in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science, 2016 KNUST