Procurement bill gives public role in tenders

The finalised draft Public Procurement Management Bill is intended to give civil society a role in adjudicating tenders, Treasury acting procurement chief Schalk Human says.

This would make the award of tenders more open and transparent, Human said on Tuesday before briefing Parliament’s appropriations committee.

Civil society including bodies such as the Black Sash, Corruption Watch and communitybased organisations, would be able to be represented on the adjudicating committees.

Human said such a system was appropriate for a vibrant democracy such as SA’s.

Gauteng already had an open process for all tenders above R50m. The draft bill would institutionalise this.

The proposed bill, which would be submitted to the Cabinet after it was approved by Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba, would introduce more flexibility into government procurement, Human said.

The bill would provide the legal framework for the regulation, modernisation and transformation of public procurement and include preferential targeting, local-content, supplier development and set-aside measures to achieve equity, job creation and local industrialisation. It would consolidate the fragmented legal and policy environment. The bill would introduce sanctions for wrongdoing and noncompliance, beefing up the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act and the Municipal Finance Management Act.

Once promulgated, the bill would override the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act, which Human said was “too rigid” and “very restrictive”.

Under the act the 80/20 and 90/10 preferential points system was the only way of granting preference. The bill would offer other opportunities more suited to the different types of sectors with which the government contracts.

“The emphasis is moving towards the costs of ownership which introduces an element of sustainability. It will not be only a question of price,” Human said.

Regarding the condoms bought by the government, for example, about 90% of which were imported, local supplier development could be made a condition of the contract with the overseas supplier to ensure the condoms are eventually produced locally.