Public Procurement Corruption and Corporate Scandals in Limpopo Province, South Africa: A Content Analysis Perspective
Keywords:
procurement, corruption, criminality, scandals and bribesAbstract
Public procurement processes are riddled with corruption and scandals; in some instances, such corrupt activities are difficult to detect. Thus, this article report on the study that was conducted in Limpopo Province, South Africa on public procurement corruption. The aim of the study was to identify forms and determinants of public procurement corruption that were common in the province and to develop intervention strategies that would combat the scourge of corruption. The study adopted a qualitative content analysis approach to collect and analyze data. The computer-assisted software analysis package-NVivo 11 pro™- was used to analyze data. Data was collected from the analysis of 5 journal articles and 40 newspaper articles from Sowetan Newspapers and Polokwane Observer. The study adopted a 4-year longitudinal study analysis, from 1st of January 2013 until the 31st of December 2016. The method employed the word count, word cloud, and word tree queries. Concepts and terms such as fraud and bribery were some of the concepts probed to arrive at conclusions. The study concluded that political interference, officials’ tendencies of contravening rules and regulations caused public procurement corruption. The study further employed the principal agency theory to recommend that there should be a rotation of officials and transparency in procurement processes.
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