Procurement Ethics
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Dr. Joseph M. Ntayi and Patrick KakweziProcurement related scandals involving public officials in Uganda have become a common phenomenon, impacting negatively on the quality of social services that are intended to benefit of Ugandans. According to Anti corruption Coalition Uganda (2005), Uganda loses USh200 billion annually, in corruption mostly through public procurement. Muguzi, (2005) reveals that corruption has led to, “significant losses of public funds through mishandled procurements and outright embezzlement.” The above observation could be attributed to the fact that public officials seem to have forgotten their primary stewardship responsibility. They are stewards of public resources and guardians of a special trust that Ugandans have placed in them. In return for this confidence, they are expected to put public interest above self-interest. Avert unethical conduct like widespread public sector patronage, corruption, crony capitalism to mention but a few, calls for Professionalism in public procurement. Procurement professionalism encompasses values that guide the public procurement function to achieve Non-discrimination, transparency, accountability and fairness, competition, confidentiality, economy and efficiency, ethics. Although the vast majority of procurement officers may be ethical, at least in their ordinary morality but all of them pay the price for decreased public confidence and trust when there is little respect for procurement ethics. This is supported by incidents of procuring junk equipment, counterfeit drugs, air-supply and delivery of shoddy work at national and local government levels.
Anecdotal evidence reveals that Uganda’s public procurement is characterized by unethical conduct. It is against this background that Makerere University Business School decided to introduce procurement ethics course with an aim of unearthing the nature and extent of procurement ethics in Uganda. This course is facilitated through lectures, student research, student seminars, workshops and presentations.
The case of the alleged junk helicopter scandal is one of the many interesting cases that will be dissected in this course. We encourage students to supplement their work with additional scholarly works listed below: (1) Ntayi et al. (2010). “Contract and Conflict in the supply chain: The Case of Ugandan Small and Medium sized Enterprises (completed research paper - Working paper); (2) Ntayi et al. (2010). Psychological climate, Catharsis, Organizational anomie, Psychological wellness and ethical procurement behaviour in Uganda's public sector – A paper accepted to be published in the Journal of public procurement (JoPP), Issue 1, 2010; (3) Ntayi et al. (2010). Social cohesion, Groupthink, ethical attitudes and the behaviour of public procurement officers – A paper accepted to be published in the Journal of public procurement (JoPP), in 2010; (4) Ntayi et al. (2010). Perceived value of the project, Opportunistic behaviour, inter-organizational cooperation and Contractor performance: Lessons from Uganda’s construction industry – A paper Accepted for publication Journal of African Business, New York, Taylor and Francis publishers; (5) Ntayi et al. (2009). Moral Disengagement and the social construction of procurement officers’ deviant behaviours. Paper under review –International Journal of Governance and Ethics, (6) Ntayi J.M (2005). Work Ethics and task performance in Uganda’s retail firms, Journal of African Business, New York, Hawoth publishers.
Anecdotal evidence reveals that Uganda’s public procurement is characterized by unethical conduct. It is against this background that Makerere University Business School decided to introduce procurement ethics course with an aim of unearthing the nature and extent of procurement ethics in Uganda. This course is facilitated through lectures, student research, student seminars, workshops and presentations.
- Procurement ethics class workshop topics (MS Excel spreadsheet)
- Click here to download articles on Procurement Ethics
The case of the alleged junk helicopter scandal is one of the many interesting cases that will be dissected in this course. We encourage students to supplement their work with additional scholarly works listed below: (1) Ntayi et al. (2010). “Contract and Conflict in the supply chain: The Case of Ugandan Small and Medium sized Enterprises (completed research paper - Working paper); (2) Ntayi et al. (2010). Psychological climate, Catharsis, Organizational anomie, Psychological wellness and ethical procurement behaviour in Uganda's public sector – A paper accepted to be published in the Journal of public procurement (JoPP), Issue 1, 2010; (3) Ntayi et al. (2010). Social cohesion, Groupthink, ethical attitudes and the behaviour of public procurement officers – A paper accepted to be published in the Journal of public procurement (JoPP), in 2010; (4) Ntayi et al. (2010). Perceived value of the project, Opportunistic behaviour, inter-organizational cooperation and Contractor performance: Lessons from Uganda’s construction industry – A paper Accepted for publication Journal of African Business, New York, Taylor and Francis publishers; (5) Ntayi et al. (2009). Moral Disengagement and the social construction of procurement officers’ deviant behaviours. Paper under review –International Journal of Governance and Ethics, (6) Ntayi J.M (2005). Work Ethics and task performance in Uganda’s retail firms, Journal of African Business, New York, Hawoth publishers.