CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND RELATED CORRUPT PRACTICES IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT IN GHANA (Published)
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 final accounting and auditing stage were found to be the stages of the public procurement process that are most susceptible to the perpetuation of acts of conflict of interest and corrupt practices in Ghana.
Response to the conference theme and outcome: This study unearths the level of corrupt practices and conflicts of interest in the construction industry in Ghana.
Practical Implications: The study increases the awareness of the prevalence of conflict of interest and corrupt practices in the construction industry despite the interventions made by successive Governments to curb same.
Originality: The study explores issues of conflict of interest and corrupt practices in the Ghanaian construction procurement landscape and identified some stages in the procurement process prone to conflict of interest and corrupt practices which if given attention safeguard the already stretched public purse.
Keywords: Construction, Corruption, Public Procurement, conflict of interest, public official