Mechanisms for Enhancing Transparency in Government Procurement to Support Development: A Comparative and Applied Analytical Study on Egypt.

Public and private government institutions in all countries need measures to manage their affairs for purchasing their supplies, goods, and all services necessary for citizens, through their responsibility and duties towards the state and citizens. Government procurement is considered the most important item in the state's agenda because the state relies on public government institutions to provide for all the needs of citizens. Government procurement is the primary temptation and the beginning of administrative and financial deviation for public employees. It is regarded as the first step towards the risks of waste of public funds, embezzlement of public money, and facilitating the embezzlement of public funds. This is due to the responsibilities of government procurement in supervising direct purchases, tenders, and service contracts. This has contributed to administrative and financial deviations and the spread of bribery in all its various forms. The report on foreign bribery issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2014 indicated that more than half of foreign bribery cases are associated with procurement, service contracts, and public works. According to the report, more than two-thirds of foreign bribery incidents related to procurement, contracts, and public licenses are linked to the following sectors: extractive industries, construction, transportation, and storage, in addition to the information and communications sectors. The report focused on the direct costs of this type of corruption, which include the loss of public funds due to the misallocation of the state's financial resources, increased expenses, and decreased quality of goods, services, and public works.