Explore publications.

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.

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.

Supply Chain Management (SCM) plays a vital role in any organization, facilitating trade both globally and locally. An organization with a robust SCM can easily meet demands, ensuring that goods or services are readily available and delivered promptly. However, poor structuring and management of SCM can lead to significant challenges, including service delivery failures. This study aims to analyze supply chain practices in the public sector in Limpopo Province, specifically focusing on public entities. The study seeks to identify weaknesses within the supply chain practices of public entities in Limpopo, highlighting issues such as lack of strategic alignment, inadequate policy implementation, and poor enforcement of SCM rules and regulations. A qualitative research approach was employed, collecting data through interviews with various experts from different public sectors to address the identified flaws in SCM practices. The findings reveal that there is a significant misalignment between supply chain and organizational strategies, which has led to service delivery backlogs, high levels of corruption, and continuous strikes across the province for better services. The study also finds that top-level management, including provincial leaders, do not perceive SCM as vital enough to warrant their attention, resulting in limited support for SCM practitioners. The lack of strategic focus and governance failures in SCM contribute to financial inefficiencies and poor service delivery, underscoring the need for provincial leaders to adopt a more strategic approach to SCM as a tool for improving public service delivery. This study provides insights into the critical role of SCM in the public sector, highlighting the urgent need for effective strategies, policy enforcement, and managerial support to mitigate governance and compliance failures. The research underscores the necessity for public entities in Limpopo to realign SCM strategies with organizational goals to enhance service delivery and combat corruption.

E-procurement is a dynamic process that involves the seamless integration of various online activities, such as order creation, supplier selection, contract signing, and product delivery, all facilitated by the Internet. Governments worldwide are increasingly emphasizing the importance of effective electronic procurement systems in promoting transparency, accountability, and efficiency in public procurement processes, where taxpayer funds are utilized.  In Zambia, despite significant efforts by the government to promote the adoption of electronic procurement systems, such as e-procurement, challenges persist in ensuring their effectiveness. The failure to address the effectiveness of e-procurement within the Ministry of Health could have severe consequences. Inadequate adherence to procurement laws and regulations, as evidenced by the ZPPA report, may lead to inefficiencies, delays in procurement processes, and mis-allocation of resources. These inefficiencies can ultimately compromise the quality and availability of healthcare services, negatively impacting patient outcomes and public health. Additionally, the inability to harness the potential benefits of e-procurement, such as cost savings and streamlined processes, may perpetuate resource wastage and hinder efforts to improve healthcare delivery in Zambia. The main objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of E-procurement systems at the Ministry of Health.  The research philosophy for this study adopted a Quantitative approach that emphasized the practical utility of research methods in addressing the research problem. The findings of the study showed that the evaluation of the e-procurement system within the Ministry yielded a comprehensive understanding of its current performance and highlighted areas needing improvement. The e-procurement system has generally been well-received by the majority of respondents, reflecting its positive impact on procurement processes. Users have rated the system as effective in streamlining operations, enhancing procurement efficiency, and being user-friendly. Based on the comprehensive analysis and findings of the study, the following recommendations were proposed to enhance the effectiveness of the e-procurement system within the Ministry: Enhance Communication, Boost Supplier Participation, Improve Supplier Responsiveness, Strengthen Data Security and Privacy Controls and Increase Transparency. By addressing these recommendations, the Ministry can significantly improve the effectiveness of its e-procurement system, leading to more efficient procurement processes, greater satisfaction among stakeholders, and a more streamlined and secure procurement environment. In practice, the study offered actionable insights for healthcare practitioners and industry professionals involved in supply chain management. From a policy perspective, the study informed the development of evidence-based policies within the Ministry of Health and other relevant governmental bodies

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 study aimed to examine the factors that affect the procurement performance of Tanzania’s parastatal entities. It examined the impact of political interference and staff competency on procurement performance. The questionnaire was used to collect data from heads of departments from 93 state-owned organizations in the Dar es Salaam Region as part of an explanatory research approach. The sample of 258 respondents was randomly selected from the population of 712 heads of departments. However, 241 questionnaires were collected from the respondents. The data were descriptively evaluated to establish the mean and standard deviation. The data were compiled using frequency distribution tables before being analyzed using multiple regression analysis. This study shows that political interference has a negative influence on procurement performance, whereas staff competency has a positive impact on procurement performance. The study implied that political influence in the procurement process should be avoided to the greatest extent possible because of its adverse effects and that staff competency should be stressed to give staff members the new skills and competencies needed to solve procurement difficulties.

The study aimed to examine the effect of political interference on procurement performance in Tanzania's parastatal organization. It was specifically intended to investigate the impact of political interference on the contract award, project allocation, and legal framework implementation on procurement performance and make some recommendations for improvement. The data were collected from heads of departments at 93 parastatal organizations in Dar es Salaam using structured questionnaires. The study's population consisted of 712 respondents, with a sample size of 256 randomly selected, but only 241 questionnaires were returned, completed, and used for analysis. The data were descriptively and inferentially analyzed using a multiple regression analysis with the help of SPSS version 26. The finding shows that political interference in contract award and legal framework implementation negatively influences procurement performance. In contrast, political interference in project allocation positively impacts procurement performance. The study implied that the procuring entity should ensure that politicians were not involved in the procurement process and that only authorized officers were allowed to participate.

The current study examined the impact of financial aspects in achieving sustainable public procurement at the Zanzibar Urban Services Project. To achieve this objective, the study used a questionnaire and documentary review checklist to collect data on identifying the impact of financial aspects on sustainable public procurement. The study used a case study design using Zanzibar Urban Services Project. Both primary and secondary data were collected through questionnaires and documentary reviews. The researcher employed the probability sampling technique specifically stratified sampling technique to sample 107 out of 153 individuals from the field and content analysis for documentary review. Descriptive analysis was used to analyse preliminary data and lastly multiple regression analysis modals was used to measure the relationship among variables. Study results indicated that in spite of the contribution of financial aspects in procurement, there is a challenge of undermining the emphasis of other non-financial aspects in procurement procedures. It was also confirmed that there is a need of balancing between financial, social and environmental aspects which are argued to achieve sustainable public procurement.

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.  

Corruption in public institutions is a significant problem that stifles economic, social and environmental development worldwide. This predominates when there is a lack of transparency, inadequate record-keeping, and low public accountability. Accordingly, the questions this paper intends to provide answers to are two-fold. Firstly, what are the recurring patterns of procurement corruption in the South Africa (SA) public sector? Secondly, how can digital technology deployment assist in checking this trend? The desktop method was adopted through literature examination of studies relating to corruption, procurement, blockchain and digitization. We conclude by proposing a model/framework for adopting and using blockchain technology in public institutions to minimise corruption and the time taken for contract document preparation and acceptance. This study contributed to knowledge by evaluating the issues associated with public procurement and how blockchain and digitization can be adopted to help stern the tide of corruption in public institutions.

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.