Abstract
Since South Africa’s political transition in 1994, corruption has been a major feature of the country’s politics. However, the complexity of post-apartheid South African politics has sometimes prevented allegations and suspicions of corruption from being adequately dealt with by the law. This article examines the legal framework used to combat public procurement corruption in South Africa. Using a comparative approach, the article also examines the legal framework of Hong Kong – with a view to identifying lessons that South Africa can learn therefrom. Such lessons include but are not limited to Hong Kong’s specific laws dedicated to public procurement, its particular legislative and institutional features, its commendable constitutional commitment to eradicating corruption, and the fact that Hong Kong’s rules pertaining to procurement processes are more consistent and are not hidden in several legislative prescripts. South Africa may also do well to learn from the successes of Hong Kong’s iconic anti-corruption agency, the Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) – in attempting to model its own anti-corruption agency.
 
Highlights
Since South Africa’s political transition in 1994, a major feature of the country’s politics has been the centrality of issues around corruption in terms of public controversy
It is widely accepted that public procurement is an area that is susceptible to corruption, and while much has been written about corruption in general, not much has been written about corruption in the public procurement context
In transforming its public procurement system, the postapartheid government aims to "realise the potential of public sector procurement as an instrument of policy in the socio-economic transformation process." This is clearly reflected in the Constitution, where provision is made in section 217(2)(a) and (b) for categories of preference in the allocation of contracts, and for the protection or advancement of persons disadvantaged by unfair discrimination
Summary
Since South Africa’s political transition in 1994, a major feature of the country’s politics has been the centrality of issues around corruption in terms of public controversy. Allegations and suspicions of corruption have plagued high-level government officials and politicians, the complexity of post-apartheid South African politics has at times prevented these allegations and suspicions from being dealt with by the independent hand of the law. Perhaps the point needs to be made in passing that corruption in South Africa is not confined to high-profile matters involving senior politicians or bureaucrats Case law in this area tends to show that corruption pays a part in state procurement processes, whether or not senior political figures or bureaucrats are involved. Corruption occurs in both the public and private sectors. Before we examine that constitutional framework, a brief understanding of the international dimension is necessary
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