Contextualising bureaucratic corruption in the Botswana public service

Abstract

This article aims to contextualise the status of bureaucratic corruption as well as certain transparency and accountability mechanisms adopted by the Botswana public service to curb corruption. The article is structured as follows: first, the article provides a brief introductory background of Botswana in terms of the context of its accountability, transparency and corruption reputation. This is followed by an overview of the statutory and regulatory framework and a conceptualisation of bureaucratic corruption in the Botswana public service. Specific aspects related to corruption in Botswana such as the level of corruption in ministries, the forms and causes of bureaucratic corruption and the most occurring offences; are highlighted. Transparency and accountability mechanisms in the Botswana public service discussed include performance management, financial reporting, records management, public procurement regulation, e-government and meritocratic recruitment. The methodology entails a desktop analysis of literature and official documents to conceptualise the area of investigation (Auriacombe 2007). The methodological approach included specific dimensions of unobtrusive research techniques. In general, unobtrusive research techniques study social behaviour to eliminate bias and promote conceptual and contextual analysis. These techniques can be applied to both quantitative and qualitative research (Auriacombe 2007).