The Root Causes of Corruption in Public Procurement: A Global Perspective

Abstract

Public procurement plays a pivotal role in driving economic activities. Globally and in Africa, one of the key drivers of economic acceleration is vested in the procurement of goods and services. The main objective of the study is to assess the root causes affecting the public procurement functions in key public institutions. The chapter is analytical and explores the root causes of corrupt practices globally and more specifically in the South African environment. This chapter, furthermore, highlights the need for the risk methodology approach to clearly understand why corruption in public procurement is rampant globally and in Africa, and how can measures be implemented to eliminate potential risk factors. This chapter contributes to the body of knowledge on corruption by looking at the sources of corruption through the lens of institutional inefficiency and root analysis. To answer the issue of whether traditional causes of corruption hold up in the face of strong anti-corruption regulations in globally and Sub-Saharan Africa, we complement conventional variables in modern literature with institutionally entrenched ones.