New bill to look after taxpayers’ money

THE LONG-awaited Public Procurement Bill would be published shortly, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced yesterday. Tabling the 2017 Budget in the National Assembly, Gordhan said the bill would set up an apex procurement authority. “It will establish a single procurement authority and will consolidate the currently fragmented regulatory environment, in keeping with section 217 of the Constitution,” Gordhan said. Section 217 of the constitution provides for the “fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective” procurement of goods and services by the national, provincial and local government. The bill, along with other procurement reforms, is set to cut out corruption, theft and irregular expenditure. Last year’s audit outcomes revealed that national and provincial government departments and entities accumulated about R46 billion in irregular expenditure – in essence spending taxpayers’ money in a way not compliant with public finance laws. Gordhan said a central supplier data base was operational. – ANA