Optimising contract management practices: evaluating contract risk management in the South African energy sector

Abstract

This study explains how contract risk management (CRM) practices shape delivery outcomes in South Africa’s energy sector and identifies feasible improvements. A qualitative design was used. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with client-side and supplier-side practitioners. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis with established trustworthiness criteria. Findings show that front-end planning and fair risk allocation set realistic baselines for cost, schedule and quality. Disciplined contract administration, including timely certification, contemporaneous records and firm change control, translates contractual intent into steady execution. Monitoring and control improve performance when information triggers proportionate consequence management rather than compliance for its own sake. Early project-embedded dispute mechanisms limit secondary delays and cost growth, and feed lessons back into planning and control. These effects are conditioned by political commitment, administrative capacity and governance culture. The study offers an integrated mechanism model and practical guidance: streamline approval chains, use live risk registers and early warnings, tighten documentation and payment routines, resource adjudication pathways, and build contract-management capability. The contribution is a context-sensitive explanation of how CRM pillars work in state-owned settings and a set of actions to improve delivery reliability.