Reforming procurement standards in order to effectively deliver public infrastructure: Rethinking the regulatory environment in post-pandemic South Africa

This research study identifies a specific layer of regulation within the governance regime which is a key factor impeding the procurement and delivery of public infrastructure in South Africa. We first identify current weaknesses of conflict and confusion at the level of soft law in the procurement...

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Main Authors: Jonathan Klaaren, Ron Watermeyer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2022-09-01
Series:South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems/article/view/4465
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author Jonathan Klaaren
Ron Watermeyer
author_facet Jonathan Klaaren
Ron Watermeyer
author_sort Jonathan Klaaren
collection DOAJ
description This research study identifies a specific layer of regulation within the governance regime which is a key factor impeding the procurement and delivery of public infrastructure in South Africa. We first identify current weaknesses of conflict and confusion at the level of soft law in the procurement and delivery of public infrastructure projects. Then we present a detailed case study of a successful South African megaproject (the procurement and delivery of the public infrastructure for two new universities, the New Universities Project) to demonstrate that these weaknesses can be avoided. The research note’s regulatory account focuses on the key element of quality in the South African public procurement regime, distinguishing that concept from the often conflated notion of value-for-money. We discuss how the problems identified could be addressed by means of changes to soft law prior to the finalisation of the current and ongoing public procurement legislative reform process. Contribution: Through a case study of the on-time and with-budget public procurement and delivery of two new universities for South Africa, the article demonstrated that national policy on public infrastructure can be successfully implemented, with attention to the key soft law layer of regulation.
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spelling doaj.art-bbc381a93d69467492547a3b8f9857d92022-12-22T03:57:38ZengAOSISSouth African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences1015-88122222-34362022-09-01251e1e910.4102/sajems.v25i1.44651020Reforming procurement standards in order to effectively deliver public infrastructure: Rethinking the regulatory environment in post-pandemic South AfricaJonathan Klaaren0Ron Watermeyer1Department of Law, Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, JohannesburgDepartment of Construction Economics and Management, Faculty of Engineering, University of the WitwaterandThis research study identifies a specific layer of regulation within the governance regime which is a key factor impeding the procurement and delivery of public infrastructure in South Africa. We first identify current weaknesses of conflict and confusion at the level of soft law in the procurement and delivery of public infrastructure projects. Then we present a detailed case study of a successful South African megaproject (the procurement and delivery of the public infrastructure for two new universities, the New Universities Project) to demonstrate that these weaknesses can be avoided. The research note’s regulatory account focuses on the key element of quality in the South African public procurement regime, distinguishing that concept from the often conflated notion of value-for-money. We discuss how the problems identified could be addressed by means of changes to soft law prior to the finalisation of the current and ongoing public procurement legislative reform process. Contribution: Through a case study of the on-time and with-budget public procurement and delivery of two new universities for South Africa, the article demonstrated that national policy on public infrastructure can be successfully implemented, with attention to the key soft law layer of regulation.https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems/article/view/4465supply chain managementstandardspublic procurementpublic managementregulationsoft lawvalue-for-moneymegaprojectspublic infrastructure
spellingShingle Jonathan Klaaren
Ron Watermeyer
Reforming procurement standards in order to effectively deliver public infrastructure: Rethinking the regulatory environment in post-pandemic South Africa
South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences
supply chain management
standards
public procurement
public management
regulation
soft law
value-for-money
megaprojects
public infrastructure
title Reforming procurement standards in order to effectively deliver public infrastructure: Rethinking the regulatory environment in post-pandemic South Africa
title_full Reforming procurement standards in order to effectively deliver public infrastructure: Rethinking the regulatory environment in post-pandemic South Africa
title_fullStr Reforming procurement standards in order to effectively deliver public infrastructure: Rethinking the regulatory environment in post-pandemic South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Reforming procurement standards in order to effectively deliver public infrastructure: Rethinking the regulatory environment in post-pandemic South Africa
title_short Reforming procurement standards in order to effectively deliver public infrastructure: Rethinking the regulatory environment in post-pandemic South Africa
title_sort reforming procurement standards in order to effectively deliver public infrastructure rethinking the regulatory environment in post pandemic south africa
topic supply chain management
standards
public procurement
public management
regulation
soft law
value-for-money
megaprojects
public infrastructure
url https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems/article/view/4465
work_keys_str_mv AT jonathanklaaren reformingprocurementstandardsinordertoeffectivelydeliverpublicinfrastructurerethinkingtheregulatoryenvironmentinpostpandemicsouthafrica
AT ronwatermeyer reformingprocurementstandardsinordertoeffectivelydeliverpublicinfrastructurerethinkingtheregulatoryenvironmentinpostpandemicsouthafrica