Abstract

Professionalism in public procurement allows for the functionality, transparency and significant savings in public expenditure. Professionalism depends on the staffing, knowledge, skills and capabilities of human resources and system controls that influence human behaviour. This study used descriptive research design. Data were collected from 48 respondents that were purposively selected from different departments of Mzinga Holding Company Limited (MHCL), Morogoro, Tanzania. Both primary and secondary data were collected using interviews and structured questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study found that strategic procurement professionalism significantly affects procurement performance at MHCL, which has made its procurement function to be more professional by organizing trainings and seminars for its employees, determining competence of procurement staff and adhering to professional codes of conduct and PPA of professionals. The study results showed that MHCL buys the right amount of quality materials from the right source at a minimum cost when they are needed. Therefore, it is recommended that the management of MHCL should allow the Tender’s Board and User Department to attend training, workshops and seminars in order to be familiar with the decisions they make.

Key words: Professional qualification, procurement performance, training, professionalism.