Determining the Causes of Corruption in Public Procurement in Ghana (original) (raw)
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Curbing Corruption in the Public Procurement Process in Ghana
Public Policy and Administration Research, 2013
Public procurement is perceived to be susceptible to corruption from project inception to completion. There is ample evidence across the world that corruption hinders economic development; reduces social services; diverts investments in infrastructure and social services and impacts the poor disproportionately The study assesses the perceptions of procurement professionals; specifically practicing quantity surveyors on the existence of corruption in the procurement process and also establishes the stages in the procurement process fraught with corrupt practices. A survey research design was employed and purposive sampling technique adopted. Descriptive statistics, relative importance index and one sample t-test were adopted in analyzing the data. This research results confirmed the perception that corruption exists in public procurement in Ghana. It also revealed that the public procurement law is contributing immensely in curbing corruption. The study further revealed that corruption is more prevalent at the tender evaluation stage of the procurement process.
A Critical Evaluation of the Public Procurement Act in Its Capacity to Defeat Corruption in Ghana
Research & Development , 2022
In addition to the standards applicable in the whole public service, specific standards for procurement officials may mitigate the specific risks related to the complexity and characteristics of the public procurement process. The standards for procurement officials-in particular specific restrictions and prohibitions-aim to ensure that officials' private interests do not improperly influence the performance of their public duties and responsibilities. Transparency in public procurement not only promotes accountability and ensures access to information, it also serves an important role in levelling the playing field for businesses and allowing small and medium enterprises to participate on a more equal footing. The purpose of the study was to critically evaluate the public procurement act in its capacity to defeat corruption. A descriptive survey was used for the study based on mixed method of research-qualitative and quantitative. A purposive sampling method was adopted in the collection of data. A 16-item interview guide was developed-made up of 15 closed ended items with 3 follow up questions and 1 openended item. The study revealed that there was not much weaknesses in public procurement activities, practices that seems to encourage corruption were minimal due to the use of the public procurement Act, due diligence was followed during procurement. The study recommended that, even though the Act seems to have defeated corruption, there should be continues capacity building for procurement officers to improve on their efficiency.
Redefining Corrupt Public Procurement Practices in Ghana Based on Stakeholders’ Perception
International Journal of Innovative Research and Development
Government and public institutions procure diverse works, goods and services from different business organizations from time to time. These acquisitions are often perceived to be surrounded by corrupt practices and with this perception in mind, people have little or no trust in public institutions and public procurement processes. The paper seeks to identif y the different forms of corrupt procurement practices to assist in the redefinition of the term. The study was conducted in two regions, namely: the Greater Accra Region and the Central Region. A field survey conducted included 120 respondents made up of contractors, opinion leaders, press men, industry professionals from public institutions and donor agencies. The study concludes by redefining corrupt procurement practice as: "the direct or indirect offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of gifts or bribes, conspiracies among firms, or fraudulent practices that influence the procurement selection process or contract execution for personal gain."
Curbing Corruption in the Public Procurement
2016
Public procurement is perceived to be susceptible to corruption from project inception to completion. There is ample evidence across the world that corruption hinders economic development; reduces social services; diverts investments in infrastructure and social services and impacts the poor disproportionately The study assesses the perceptions of procurement professionals; specifically practicing quantity surveyors on the existence of corruption in the procurement process and also establishes the stages in the procurement process fraught with corrupt practices. A survey research design was employed and purposive sampling technique adopted. Descriptive statistics, relative importance index and one sample t-test were adopted in analyzing the data. This research results confirmed the perception that corruption exists in public procurement in Ghana. It also revealed that the public procurement law is contributing immensely in curbing corruption. The study further revealed that corrupti...
Corruption in Public Procurement in Ghana: societal norm or deviant behaviour
Research article, 2018
The paper probes corruption in public procurement in Ghana. The research, which focused on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) across the country, revealed widespread corruption in the public service of Ghana. Notable procurement related corrupt practices unraveled included influence peddling, inflating contract sums, payment for non-existing contracts, deliberate contract splitting, multiple payments for contracts, use of phantom vendors and misapplication of public funds. The study further noted that some principal officers such as Coordinating Directors, Finance Officers, Budget and Planning officers, Engineers, Internal Auditors, Stores and Procurement officers, as well as government representatives misappropriate funds meant for development projects in their catchment areas, while staff looked on unconcerned. The research also discovered how Internal and external auditors ostensibly " train " principal officers on how to conceal corrupt practices in return for money and other rewards. The study is significant because the concept of decentralization was introduced to enable MMDAs to effectively and efficiently manage resources for the development of their communities. The concept has been defeated as some public servants connive with external auditors and other stakeholders to amass wealth at the expense of the generality of the people. A worrying phenomenon is the culture of silence by employees who are witnesses to most of these corrupt practices. Indeed, our findings show that most public servants are nonchalant about the act of corruption perpetuated by colleague workers. Essentially, some employees see nothing wrong with their principal officers and other colleagues indulging in acts of corruption, their reason being that they might do same when they assume similar positions in future. With this revelation, the onus is on government not to only adopt a combative strategy in dealing with the incidence of corruption. Rather, it is recommended that a blend of combative and the moral suasion strategies be adopted if the fight against corruption is to achieve desired results.
Research Paper, 2014
This study seeks to draw attention to the irregularities which characterise the public procurement process in Ghana, and also provide recommendations as to how these should be addressed in order to make public procurement fairer, more transparent, and to provide best value for public money. The study reviewed the Auditor General’s report presented to the Public Accounts Committee of Ghana for the year ended December 2009. The reports reviewed are; audits reports of the Drivers’ and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Health. The focus of the review was to identify the procurement irregularities which occurred in these public institutions, and reasons assigned for their occurrence. The research findings indicate the following as the main procurement irregularities: poor record keeping; unauthorised transactions; failure to comply with public procurement laws and regulations; failure to prepare procurement plans; poor stores practices; and misapplication of funds and poor payment practices. Reasons attributed to these irregularities include: lack of supervision; failure to enforce accountability; weak internal control; negligence and lack of diligence; officers’ complicity; and ignorance.
Conflict of Interest and Related Corrupt Practices in Public Procurement in Ghana
Purpose: The objective of this study was to assess the perceptions of the players in Ghana's Construction industry (GCI) on the pervasiveness of conflict of interest and corruption in the industry. Research Design: The study involved the undertaking of an extensive literature review on the subject matter. Additionally, employing the principles of a " survey approach to research " , a questionnaire was developed, which sought to primarily establish, which of the stages of the procurement process was most susceptible to corruption and acts of conflict of interest Purposive sampling was utilized and descriptive statistics and relative importance index were used to analyze the data. Research Limitations: The use of purposive sampling limited the survey to the participants of the procurement forum. Findings: From the study, acts of conflict of interest and corrupt practices are still pervasive in the construction industry and the tender stage, contract execution stage and f...
The Consequences of Public Procurement and Its Associated Irregularities in Ghana
Academic and Applied Research in Military and Public, 2021
Ghana spends a large number of its public resources on the acquisition of goods, works and services with most of them being sourced through Public Procurement. The country in its quest to ensure transparency and efficiency in its public transaction established the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) and clothed it with powers by an Act of Parliament to discharge the given responsibilities. However, since 2003 when the 4th Republican rule was instituted, not a single government regime has exited from office without recourse to irregularities associated with the procurement processes as reported by the Auditor General’s Annual Reports or reports by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). The goal of this paper is to look at the consequences of these irregularities in the procurement process posed to Ghana’s development. The methodology used in carrying out this study centred mainly on secondary data, and some recommendations have been offered for consideration.
2018
Corruption have emerged as one of the critical issues in government and non-government organisations over the past decades, particularly in public financed procurement projects. In Tanzania, the efforts towards ant – corrupt practices in public procurement have been more emphasised, however, the problem is still alarming. This empirical study was therefore conducted to assess the determinants of corrupt practices in public procurement. Specifically, the study: Ascertained the extent to which legal frameworks influences corrupt practices, examined the role of education and training on corrupt practices, and determined the effects of economic factors on procurement corrupt practices. The study adopted descriptive research design and purposive sampling to collect data from 44 respondents in Moshi District Council who involve directly in making arrangement of procurement decisions. The output of the study was achieved through binary logistics regression with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft excel. The study revealed that to a less extent (2.06 ≤ mean ≤ 3.25) procurement legal frameworks have been effectively implemented to curb procurement corrupt practices. Furthermore, the study found that 87.8% have received training and education on procurement corrupt practices. However, it was found that corrupt related training and education has no statistical effect on procurement ant-corrupt practices. It was also reported by 70.5% of respondents that economic factors significantly influence procurement corrupt practices. Moreover, 69.5% of respondents reported that they have encountered corrupt practices in public procurement to a great extent (3.75≤ mean≤4.45). The study therefore concluded that weak procurement legal frameworks and economic factors are the key determinants of procurement corrupt practices and statistically significant influences corrupt practices. Among others, the study recommended on the need to reform and restructures procurement legal frameworks and ethical training to and strengthens ant-corrupt practices. Key words: Procurement, Public Procurement, Legal frameworks, training and education, economic factors and Procurement Corrupt Practices