Category Archives: Books

Major new publication on public procurement corruption

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A new publication, the Routledge Handbook of Public Procurement Corruption, edited by APLU Deputy Director, Prof Sope Williams, and GWU’s Prof Jessica Tillipman, was published in April 2024 providing a go-to reference for all who are interested in public procurement and countering corruption. This major work, with 33 chapters covering both thematic issues in public procurement corruption and country studies from around the globe provides one of the most comprehensive treatments of addressing corruption in public procurement.

Apart from Prof Williams, who contributed chapters on an overview of corruption and public procurement and on the position in Nigeria, other APLU researchers also contributed to the volume, with APLU Director, Prof Geo Quinot, authoring a chapter on corruption in COVID-19 procurement and APLU fellow, Prof George Nwangwu, writing on corruption in public–private partnership procurement. A number of African countries are also included among the country case studies in part III of the book.

More details can be found on the publisher’s website.

New book focusing on public procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic

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Covid19 Book Cover 2021Hart Publishing published the title Public Procurement Regulation in (a) Crisis? Global Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic in November 2021. The book was edited by Sue Arrowsmith, Luke RA Butler, Annamaria La Chimia and Christopher Yukins.

The book provides the first systematic analysis of global public procurement regulation and policy during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through both thematic chapters and national case studies, the book:
– explores the adequacy of traditional legal frameworks for emergency procurement;
– examines how governments and international organisations have responded specifically to the pandemic; and
– considers how the experience of the pandemic and the political impetus for reform might be leveraged to improve public procurement more broadly.

Public procurement has been critical in delivering vital frontline public services both in the health sector and elsewhere, with procurement of ventilators, protective equipment and new hospitals all hitting the headlines. At the same time, procurers have faced the challenge of adjusting existing contracts to a new reality where, for example, some contracted services can no longer operate. Further, efficient and effective procurement will be an essential, and not a luxury, in the economic recovery.

With case studies on Italy, the UK, the USA, India, Singapore, Africa, Latin America and China, the book brings together the world’s leading academics and practitioners from across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa to examine these issues, providing an essential resource for policy makers, legislators, international organisations and academics.

Several APLU researchers contributed to the work, including chapters focusing on the experience in Italy by APLU Fellow, Annamaria La Chimia and in Africa by APLU directors and fellow, Geo Quinot, Sope Williams-Elegbe and Kingsley Udeh.

The book can be ordered from the publisher’s website at this link.

Public Procurement Regulation in Africa: Development in Uncertain Times

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edited by Geo Quinot & Sope Williams-Elegbe

9780639010601_1 Public Procurement Regulation 2020Public procurement law is one of the fastest growing areas of law globally. In recent years, the role of public procurement in supporting development has been highlighted, becoming a major theme of research, and included in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Yet, despite it being estimated that on average about 15% of the GDP of Sub-Saharan African countries is expended on public procurement, there is limited research on public procurement and the role of law in Africa.  APLU’s 2020 publication released by LexisNexis, Public Procurement Regulation in Africa: Development in Uncertain Times aims to address this gap in the literature.

Transcending academic legalese and philosophical discourse, the title puts forward ideas on arresting procurement maladies and will also be useful for administrative, law enforcement functionaries, consultants, academics, and students interested in expanding their procurement knowledge while contributing meaningfully to African procurement reform.

In her foreword, Professor Thuli Madonsela, former Public Protector of South Africa, says, “Procurement has become the Achilles’ heel of state affairs in South Africa and other parts of the African continent. Yet properly handled, procurement can contribute meaningfully towards good governance and state delivery on sustainable development goals and the advancement of social justice and related human rights.”

Editors Geo Quinot and Sope William-Elegbe, both professors of law at Stellenbosch University and co-directors of the African Procurement Law Unit, bring together a number of essays from academics and professionals working in public procurement law, focusing on public procurement regulation in Africa aimed at development in uncertain times.

Working on a social compact for economic recovery, growth and transformation needs to be the focus for both the private and public sector, with compliant procurement playing a pivotal role in this process. Understanding and identifying the many fault lines that exist to allow for procurement irregularities, will serve to red flag fraud and corruption and increase efficiencies and compliance with the law. As the COVID-19 pandemic has clearly shown, there has never been a more urgent time to engage with these issues.

ToC

To order the book, click on this link.

Public Procurement Regulation for 21st Century Africa

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Edited by Sope Williams-Elegbe and Geo QuinotCover add

Juta & Co (2018)

Public procurement law governs the acquisition of the goods and services that a state needs to fulfil its public functions. This area of law has seen tremendous development globally in recent years, and Africa is no exception.

In many African countries there have been sweeping reforms in the regulatory regimes that govern public procurement. This trend shows no signs of slowing down.

On the African continent, public procurement law is closely tied to pressing policy issues: from development plans to donor aid and international lending, to anti-corruption agendas and capacity challenges, to public finance management, enforceable remedies under the rule of law, and human rights. This book investigates a number of these themes to foster an understanding of public procurement law in the context of contemporary Africa.

The authors of this collection, Public Procurement Regulation for 21st Century Africa, draw on their varied experience from scholarship, government, international bodies, NGOs and private practice to provide a range of perspectives that shed light on this vital field of law.

Contents Include:

  • Foreword: Public procurement regulation suited for 21st century Africa: Reform, governance and innovation – Advocate Kevin S Malunga, Deputy Public Protector of the Republic, South Africa
  • Table of Cases
  • Table of Statutes
  • Table of Abbreviations
  • The new challenges and opportunities for public procurement regulation in Africa – Geo Quinot & Sope Williams-Elegbe
  • Public procurement law in Africa within a developmental framework – Geo Quinot
  • Development aid procurement and the UNGPs on Business and Human Rights: Challenges and opportunities to move towards the new frontier of ‘buying justice’ – Annamaria La Chimia 
  • Economic and legal perspectives on the use of horizontal public procurement policies to drive industrial development and economic transformation in South Africa – Tebogo Makube 
  • Corruption, fraud and African procurement – Moustapha Diallo
  • The use of civil activism in combating corruption in public procurement: A South African perspective – Stephen de la Harpe
  • Curbing corruption in Africa through the African Integrity Fund: A case study of firms sanctioned – the African Development Bank – Sanjeev Narrainen
  • Self-cleaning in public procurement in Africa: Lessons from the European Union – Willard T Mugadza
  • Weaponising transparency: Nigerian defence procurement reform as a counterterrorism strategy – Eva Anderson, Matthew T Page & Tom Keatinge
  • Electronic procurement in Africa – Caroline Nicholas
  • Construction procurement in South Africa: Capacity for procurement law or procurement law for capacity? – Allison Anthony
  • The standstill period in South African public procurement – Justin Laing
  • Supplier remedies under Namibia’s Public Procurement Act 15 of 2015 – Ester N Kuugongelwa
  • The public procurement complaint and administrative review mechanism in Ghana – Dominic N Dagbanja
  • Bidder and contractor remedies in procurements funded – the multilateral development banks: The case of the World Bank – Sope Williams-Elegbe
  • Bibliography of Research on Public Procurement Regulation in Africa

Of Interest and Benefit to:

  • Judges
  • Advocates
  • Attorneys
  • State advisers
  • Academics

Key Benefits:

  • Provides detailed analysis from both academic and practical perspectives on key challenges in regulating public procurement in the African context.
  • The analyses are specifically grounded in the African context, making it one of the very few texts dealing with public procurement law from an African perspective.
  • Addresses key issues including corruption in public procurement, electronic public procurement, procurement and development, procurement law reform and procurement capacity issues.

The book is available from Juta at the following link.

Read a recent review of the book here. 

Public Procurement and Multilateral Development Banks

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By Sope Williams-Elegbe

Hart Publishing (2017)

Sope 2017 Book cover

The multilateral development banks cumulatively channel billions of dollars annually in development assistance to Borrower countries. This finance is usually spent through processes that incorporate the public procurement regulations of the banks. It is in fact, often a condition of this finance that the funds must be spent using the procurement regulations of the lender institution. This book examines the issues and challenges raised by procurement regulation in the multilateral development banks. The book examines the history of procurement regulation in the banks; the tripartite relationship created between the banks, Borrowers and contractors in funded procurements; the procurement documents and procurement cycle; as well as how the banks ensure competition and value for money in funded procurements. The book also examines the banks’ approach to sustainability concerns in public procurement such as environmental, social or industrial concerns; as well as how the banks address the issue of corruption and fraud in funded contracts. Another issue that is addressed by this book is how the banks have implemented the aid effectiveness agenda. It will be seen that the development banks have undertaken steps to harmonise their policies and practices, increased Borrower procurement capacity, taken steps to
reduce the tying of aid, and play an important role in the reform of Borrower procurement systems, all in an effort to improve the effectiveness of development finance. The book also considers the contractual and other remedies that are available to parties that may be aggrieved as a result of a funded procurement. The book analyses, compares and contrasts the legal, practical and institutional approaches to procurement regulation in the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the Asian Deelopment Bank and the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development.

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Public Procurement Regulation in Africa

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Edited by: Geo Quinot & Sue Arrowsmith

Cambridge University Press (2013)

African Procurement Book Cover Public procurement regulation in Africa is not widely researched. To address the shortage of scholarship in this area and to promote future research, this book analyses the law governing public procurement in a number of African systems and looks at key themes relevant to all African states. Part I discusses the regulatory regimes of nine African systems using a common framework, providing both a focused view of these African systems and an accessible comparative perspective. In Part II, key regulatory issues in public procurement that are particularly relevant in the African context are assessed through a comparative approach. The chapters consider the influence of international regulatory regimes (particularly the UNCITRAL Model Law on procurement) on African systems and provide insights into the way public procurement regulation is approached in Africa.

More information: For those in sub-Subharan Africa>> OR outside sub-Saharan Africa>>

Fighting Corruption in Public Procurement

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A Comparative Analysis of Disqualification or Debarment Measures

By: Sope Williams-Elegbe

Hart Publishing (2012)

Sope Corruption Book CoverAnti-corruption measures have firmly taken centre stage in the development agenda of international organisations as well as in developed and developing countries. One area in which corruption manifests itself is in public procurement and, as a result, States have adopted various measures to prevent and curb corruption in public procurement. One such mechanism for dealing with procurement corruption is to debar or disqualify corrupt suppliers from bidding for or otherwise obtaining government contracts.

This book examines the issues and challenges raised by the debarment or disqualification of corrupt suppliers from public contracts. The book compares and contrasts the legal, practical and institutional approaches to the implementation of the disqualification mechanism in the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Republic of South Africa and the World Bank.

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The Law of Public Procurement in Ghana

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By: Dominic N Dagbanja

Lap Lambert Academic Publishing (2011)

Dagbanja Book coverSince the enactment of The Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) of Ghana, scholarly analyses and evaluations of its contents, institutional mechanisms and underlying policy objectives are lacking. An implication of this dearth of scholarly inquiry is that indigenous bases for assessing the procurement system for its effective implementation and reforms are limited. Similarly, in light of the fundamental importance of procurement regulation for public financial administration, it is crucial that compact and handy information on the system be readily available to parties and stakeholders in procurement. This seminal book, the first of its kind in Ghana and one of such few works in Africa, outlines and discusses the institutional and legal features of the public procurement system in Ghana. By critically interpreting, evaluating and explaining the law, the book provides comprehensively relevant information for all engaged in procurement in Ghana. Thus, government agencies, procurement officers, anti-corruption institutions, policy-makers, scholars, students, judges and lawyers in Ghana, Africa and beyond will find this book most invaluable for practice and comparative studies.

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State Commercial Activity: A Legal Framework

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By: Geo Quinot

Juta (2009)

State Commercial Activity – A Legal Framework analyses the state’s conduct as a market participant from a legal perspective. CoverIt focuses on the judicial control of such state conduct and puts forward a legal framework in terms of which to understand state commercial activity, including public procurement.

The book focuses on South African law, but includes comparative perspectives from English, German and French law.

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The Law of Government Procurement in South Africa

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By: Phoebe Bolton

LexisNexis (2007)

The Law of Government Procurement in South Africa is the very first comprehensive analysis of this topic. Phoebe Book CoverIt systematically covers the entire field of law applicable to government procurement and examines the scope and effect of the current procurement legislation in the light of existing case law and commentary.

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