CONTRACTORS’ PERCEPTION ON COMPLIANCE WITH REGULATORY FRAMEWORK IN PUBLIC ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Construction industry continuously suffer from lack of compliance with regulatory framework. Particularly, a lack of compliance contributes to substandard works, delayed project implementation that are above estimated budget in public road construction subsector. Deviating from regulatory framework is reported globally. Public procurement reforms underpin regulatory inefficiencies globally calling for strengthening to achieve value for money. Using data from private road contractors, this study determines compliance factors for public procurement regulatory framework in implementing public road construction projects. A cross-sectional research design with structured self-administered questionnaire was adopted and PLS-SEM through SmartPLS3 used to estimate compliance model. Findings reveal that sanctions on staff significantly enhances compliance with public procurement regulatory framework (α = 0.418, t = 1.995, p = 0.046). However, familiarity with regulatory framework, monitoring road construction activities, staff professionalism, perceived inefficiency and contractors’ resistance could not. Accordingly, management is encouraged to enforce strict sanction effectively to ensure compliance with regulatory framework.