Using AHP to prioritize the corruption risk practices in the Iraqi construction sector

Corruption is an old phenomenon, but what is new is the increase in its scale and its diversified methods. Both advanced and developing countries have suffered to the point where corruption threatens to degrade communities and interrupt the progress of economic development. There are common issues in corruption, which is defined as the illegal obtainment of money, and the problem of corruption has been exacerbated by state institutions’ dealings with private-sector companies through contracts. The major aim of this study is to assess the practices of corruption that represent risks in the Iraqi construction sector. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to develop multi-criteria decision-making support models to compare the major factors and risk categories to discern those with the greatest negative effect on construction projects and then to specify the optimal actions for the prevention of such practices. A set of corruption practices were extracted through reviewing the literature from previous studies, the reports of the Federal Board of Supreme Audit (FBSA) in Iraq and interviews with experts and decision-makers in the FBSA. The corruption practices were evaluated using a form prepared to suit the AHP methodology and enforcement steps have been simplified through Super Decisions software, which was available for its fulfillment. The AHP analysis showed that the construction stage is the primary stage for corruption practices, followed by the tendering stage and then the design stage. This paper suggests preventive actions for practices at each stage of a construction project in Iraq, and it recommends multiple strategies to eliminate corruption. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.