Public procurement is a core government activity that is highly prone to
corruption. Why, despite joint efforts of national governments and the
international donor community to strengthen statutory frameworks, are
public procurement systems in Sub-Saharan Africa still insufficiently
equipped to prevent corruption? It is the purpose of the book to advance
Law and Development research by (a) assessing the effectiveness of
institutional means to curb procurement-related corruption in Tanzania,
Kenya, and Uganda; (b) treating law as a means to foster development,
and (c) applying qualitative research methods to establish causal
mechanisms between law and the social phenomenon of corruption. The book
shows that while procurement systems are on paper well suited to serve
as anti-corruption instruments, implementation gaps are significant;
thus, 'law in books' and 'law in action' differ to a large extent. The
reasons are unearthed on the political, institutional, and individual
level.