Understanding Corruption in the South African Construction Industry

Abstract

Corruption persists in the construction industry, impeding service delivery. This study aimed to understand corruption among practitioners within the South African (SA) construction industry. The study included practitioners in the construction industry (private and public sector) operating across seven associations in Johannesburg, SA. Participants were recruited using a snowball sampling method. Participants completed an open-ended, semi-structured interview (12 questions), conducted face-to-face and took 45 to 60 minutes. There were a total of 11 participants. Respondents felt collusion exists due to poor ethics and that poor ethics among built environment stakeholders result in unethical behaviour. There was consensus that corruption affects the economic growth of SA and that small, micro, and medium enterprises are vulnerable when the economy performs poorly. Participants agreed that corruption could result in delayed or no completion of projects, affect quality standards and that incompetent contractors result in poor performance. Participants felt that corrupt practices result in government departments paying contractors late.

On the other hand, whistleblowing rarely occurs due to its risky nature. There was agreement that unethical practices affect securing contracts during procurement and that the manipulation of procurement processes results from a lack of transparency. Corruption is a challenge in the SA construction industry and needs to be eliminated.

Key Words: construction research; corruption; South Africa; construction industry