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This study focuses on procurement processes as one of the most critical issues facing the South African local government domain today. Our main argument in this paper is that effective and efficient procurement processes are stifled by corruption emanating from political patronage which continues to menace the public sector. The trickle-down effect of this is poor service rendering in local government and the disjuncture between the services rendered and the citizens’ priorities. The principal-agent theory was used as an analytical lens of the study. The study adopted a qualitative literature review to unearth the scourge of tenderpreneurship and explore its effects on service delivery in the Eastern Cape province. Findings revealed that, despite the enactment of relevant statutory instruments and institutional structures to enhance procurement practices within local government, politics-administration dichotomy continues to negatively affect the processes. Corruption in the procurement processes has manifested itself through bribery, fraud and kickbacks and these have proven to be counterproductive in terms of service delivery. Findings have also demonstrated that the rendering of services such as water and sanitation, infrastructure and electricity remain elusive in many local municipalities in the provinces owing to the poor quality of work provided by inexperienced contractors linked to the political elite. In this regard, the study recommends the strengthening of internal financial controls within municipalities and establishing clear work procedures and oversight mechanisms between the politicians and the street bureaucrats.

This paper evaluates the performance of road construction contracts awarded by the Roads Authority (RA) of Namibia, addressing the persistent project delays, cost overruns, and contractor non-performance that have continued despite the enactment of the Public Procurement Act 15 of 2015. The study examines three interrelated dimensions of contract performance: the role of procurement processes in contractor selection, the effectiveness of monitoring and evaluation systems, and the influence of external factors on project outcomes. A qualitative case study design, underpinned by a constructivist research philosophy, was adopted. Data were collected through semi-structured questionnaires administered to 27 purposively selected participants, comprising 10 Roads Authority procurement officers and project managers and 17 contractors who undertook road projects between 2020 and 2025. Responses were analysed in ATLAS.ti through inductive open, axial, and selective coding, yielding 68 codes consolidated into 19 clusters and five overarching themes. The findings show that contract performance is undermined by (i) procurement process limitations, particularly lowest-bid bias and unverifiable paper-based capacity assessment; (ii) monitoring and supervision gaps linked to understaffing and reactive contract management; (iii) institutional capacity constraints; (iv) external pressures, most notably delayed client payments and political interference; and (v) contractor-side weaknesses including financial mismanagement and capacity misrepresentation. These findings are interpreted through Principal-Agent Theory, the Resource-Based View, and Project Management Theory, which jointly demonstrate that performance failure is multi-causal rather than attributable to any single determinant. The study recommends reforming contractor selection criteria, introducing performance-based contracting, strengthening monitoring capacity through digital systems, and improving payment discipline, offering an empirically grounded contribution to public procurement and infrastructure contract management scholarship in developing countries.

This paper aims to examine the effects of public sector procurement practices on public sector service delivery in Ghana’s technical universities, while also assessing the influence of institutional leadership and stakeholder pressure as mediating mechanisms within this relationship. In this paper, it is also aimed to evaluate how internal governance conditions shape the effectiveness of procurement reforms in higher education institutions. The study employed the positivist research paradigm, a quantitative research approach and an explanatory research design, using structural equation modelling (SEM) to validate the measurement model and test the structural relationships. Primary data were collected from 235 staff across selected technical universities through a simple random sampling technique using a structured questionnaire. The main findings demonstrate that: (i) procurement practices do not have a significant direct effect on service delivery, indicating that technical interventions alone are insufficient to drive performance improvements; (ii) institutional leadership exerts a strong and positive influence on service delivery, highlighting the importance of strategic direction, governance competence and managerial oversight in shaping public sector outcomes; and finally, (iii) stakeholder pressure substantially enhances service delivery and serves as a critical channel through which procurement practices exert their influence. The results further reveal that both institutional leadership and stakeholder pressure significantly mediate the relationship between procurement practices and service delivery, suggesting that procurement reforms achieve their intended outcomes only when supported by robust institutional environments. These findings provide practical insights for policymakers and higher education managers, emphasising the need for governance-focused interventions alongside procurement reforms to achieve sustainable improvements in service delivery within Ghana’s technical universities.

This study aims to assess the public sector procurement practices implemented in technical universities in Ghana and to examine their influence on public sector service delivery within these institutions. Guided by a positivist philosophy, the study employed a quantitative research approach and an explanatory research design to test the hypothesised relationship between procurement practices and service delivery outcomes. The study employed the positivist research paradigm, a quantitative research approach, an explanatory research design and structural equation modelling (SEM) to validate the measurement model and test the structural relationships. Primary data were collected through structured questionnaires administered to 235 employees across management, procurement, finance, stores and audit departments in three technical universities, Takoradi, Cape Coast and Sunyani through the help of simple random sampling technique. Using SmartPLS and structural equation modelling, the study evaluated the reliability and validity of the measurement model, assessed model fit and estimated the structural relationships between variables. The main findings demonstrate that (i) public sector procurement practices are implemented at a moderate level across the technical universities, with higher performance in supplier evaluation, contract negotiation and payment processing, (ii) procurement practices did not significantly influence service delivery, despite a positive but statistically insignificant path coefficient, indicating that procurement alone may not be a strong driver of service delivery outcomes within the higher education context, and (iii) the factors affecting service delivery in technical universities may be broader and more complex, potentially involving governance structures, resource availability, institutional capacity and administrative efficiency. These results contribute new empirical evidence to the procurement literature by highlighting sector-specific dynamics in higher education and suggest the need for more integrated institutional reforms, enhanced procurement monitoring and further research exploring mediating and moderating variables that may influence service delivery performance in Ghana’s technical universities.

Reforms in the South African public procurement system have been declared a new era of accountability and a new beginning in procurement. The modifications sought to rectify past disparities by fostering economic inclusion for under-represented groups via preferential procurement. Historically, procurement procedures benefited established organisations, restricting market access for black-owned businesses. The implementation of the Public Procurement Act introduced additional obstacles as it aimed to rectify imbalances in public procurement. The preferred procurement policy fundamentally defines "black people" as per the Broad-Based Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) framework, encompassing Black Africans, Indians, and Coloured individuals. This designation has resulted in definitional uncertainty and operational difficulties in guaranteeing equal procurement opportunities for "black individuals." This paper critically examines the South African government's failure to leverage its transformative potential by using the term "black people" to encompass three racial groups—Black Africans, Indians, and Coloureds—in procurement policies and legislation, thereby constraining the transformative impact on Black Africans' access to opportunities in public procurement. The essay advocates for a restructuring of the preferential procurement framework, based on empirical studies and policy evaluations, to explicitly prioritise black Africans, so ensuring greater inclusivity and verifiable socio-economic benefit. 

This research examines the critical role of supplier collaboration in advancing sustainable procurement practices within Temeke District’s Blue Economy a coastal zone in Tanzania where marine resources underpin livelihoods yet face escalating environmental pressures. Despite national policies promoting sustainable ocean governance, implementation gaps persist due to fragmented regulations, power imbalances, and the marginalization of informal suppliers. This study addresses an underexplored link: how collaborative relationships between buyers and suppliers enable or constrain sustainability outcomes in complex, resource-dependent contexts. Adopting a mixed methods approach, the research engaged diverse stakeholders across public, private, and community spheres. Findings reveal that transactional procurement paradigms dominate, stifling innovation and ecological stewardship. Trust deficits and restrictive contractual frameworks inhibit meaningful partnerships, while pervasive informality excludes suppliers with invaluable place-based knowledge. Nevertheless, intermediary actors, such as NGOs and community leaders emerge as vital bridges, fostering adaptive solutions through locally embedded dialogue. The study identifies key barriers, including conflicting sectoral policies, financial exclusion, and gendered occupational segregation, which limit inclusive participation. Conversely, enablers like co-designed "Sustainability Compacts" and intergenerational knowledge exchange offer pathways for reform. Recommendations prioritize integrated governance, supplier empowerment funds, and gender-responsive platforms to reconfigure collaboration as a catalyst for equity and resilience. By centering Temeke’s socio-ecological realities, this research contributes a framework for transforming procurement from a compliance exercise into a regenerative force. It argues that effective Blue Economy transitions require redistributing agency to frontline suppliers not as contractors, but as custodians of coastal futures.

In South Africa, like many developing countries, procurement is seen and used as a strategic tool to promote socioeconomic development, including the promotion of competition, among other objectives. The South African commuter bus industry is structured to procure – through competitive tendering – SMMEs within the industry’s mainstream. These contracts are subsidized by the government – their origins date back to the 1940s – to ease the financial burden on black African communities. However, since its establishment, some challenges are hindering the effective procurement of these services, thus affecting the provision of these services. This paper highlights the challenges faced by Gauteng Province in the procurement of subsidised commuter services. The paper employs a mixed-methods research approach, and the research instrument was a face-to-face semi-structured interview questionnaire. Based on the findings of the study, Gauteng commuter bus industry operations are challenged with poor policy implementation, a lack of funds to support the industry’s operational needs, and a deficiency in administrative skills, among other challenges. The paper recommends that the Gauteng government revisit the guiding policies for the establishment of the industry and employ the best procurement practice(s) for this industry, considering the complex nature of South Africa (being influenced by the apartheid era and the government is faced with maintaining a balance between the blacks and the whites among citizens).

This study aims to determine the procurement process challenges for improving the Department of Correctional Services (DCS). All the participants recruited by the researcher were not forced to participate or sign the consent form. The researcher considered only voluntary participation and the participants were requested to sign the POPI Act consent forms before conducting the face-to-face interview. The study adopted a qualitative research methodology to get a comprehensive and deeper understanding of the challenges and effects of the procurement process. Information was collected from the key informants using Face-to-face interviews; the key informants were possible suppliers, chief executors, executors, and directors. Managers specializing in the procurement field and potential suppliers were chosen as respondents to obtain sentiments toward the procurement process. The study established that (DCS) is one of the national departments faced with the challenges of improving the procurement process. Hence the case study focuses on procurement process challenges for the improvement of the DCS. The study concluded that most of the fruitless, wasteful and irregular, and unauthorized expenditures incurred in DCS are caused by a lack of availability of resources such as employment finances and a lack of technology due to resistance to change from the top management to the lower level.

This paper presents the structure and contexts of transaction costs and competitive tendering. The model is proposed as the first step in the development of a causal link between transaction costs and competitive tendering in the public sector. It draws upon the theory of open systems to build a structural framework. Concepts relevant to transaction costs and competitive tendering in the public sector are integrated into this framework. The subsequent papers will add concepts to the model and demonstrate a generic model fit for public practitioners, decision-makers, academicians, and bidders (suppliers, contractors, and service providers) to carry out their procurement activities in a systematic and planned manner.  

This study aims to investigate the influence of record management in the tendering process in the public sector in the context of the Embu County Government, specifically the study sought to investigate the influence of training in record keeping and the filing system on tendering process in Embu county government.  The study adopted a descriptive research design. The study used the census method for the 33 members of the tendering committee in the county government of Embu. The study adopted a census because the population was small. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data needed in the study. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze quantitative data. Quantitative responses based on the Likert scale were coded in the computer using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. Processed data were summarized in tables and then presented using simple frequencies and percentages. The study established that records management affected the tendering process. The study also revealed that the tendering process in the public sector is statistically significantly (P = 0.000) affected by records management. The study recommended that the County government of Embu should ensure that the tendering process is effective, by adopting advanced training in the record management and filing systems so as to maintain and secure all tender records in the procurement department.