Abstract
This chapter critically examines the robustness of public procurement oversight and a scourge of corruption in the public sector in South Africa and Kenya. In so doing, a comparative analysis of South Africa and Kenya is conducted. The chapter relied on qualitative research methodologies. The study furthermore adopted secondary quantitative research methods using cross-country comparative strategy. The chapter discovered that both South Africa and Kenya do conform to international laws and standards in designing institutional architecture prescribed to govern the space where public procurement is exercised. However, what appears to be a challenge is that internal controls are hugely used as front to tick a box and for obtaining legitimacy to international community. Weak internal controls are deliberately designed so that one way or the other, corruption activities are galvanized. This is enabled by limited access to information pertaining to procurement contracts between the public and the private sector. Thus, the internal statutes designed by these countries embody a specific clause that bars practical transparency, rendering state coffers to the hands of the corrupt. It would be best if both ex ante and ex post oversight are concurrently applied and strengthened so that significant impact in putting corruption to a complete halt, is realized.
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Makiva, M. (2021). Public Procurement Oversight and the Scourge of Corruption in the Public Sector: A Comparative Analysis of South Africa and Kenya. In: Dorasamy, N., Fagbadebo, O. (eds) Public Procurement, Corruption and the Crisis of Governance in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63857-3_12
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