Efficiency in the procurement cycle of South African public entities

Abstract

A number of South African public entities have been reporting high levels of irregular and fruitless and wasteful expenditures. The Auditor General South Africa has also been issuing qualified audit reports with a material findings relating to non-compliance with procurement regulation and policies. The procurement process is an important function which drives most of the public entities deliveries on their mandates. What is needed is an understanding of the causes for these inefficiencies currently being reported in procurement in order to enable policy makers to tackle them. A deeper understanding of the root causes of these inefficiencies is especially important in South Africa, given the high social, economic and environmental impact of funds lost in the process. This thesis uses detailed interviews to better understand the causes of the inefficiencies in the procurement process of South African public entities. In doing so, the report contributes to the general body of procurement process research in the public sectors which has largely neglected Africa and offers first formal examination of what might be contributing to a breakdown in the procurement process in the public sector in South Africa