Monitoring SA’s tenders

PROUDLY SA KEEPS EYE ON GOVERNMENT’S PROCUREMENT Laws are in place but compliance remains issue.

Proudly South African has developed an innovative, in-house tender tracking system to monitor government’s compliance with its mandate to make local procurement a priority.

Proudly SA’s chief executive, Eustace Mashimbye, yesterday said the system trawls the websites of all three spheres of government, their agencies and entities, giving the IT team full access to the terms of reference of all request for quotes (RFQs) and request for proposals (RFPs).

The software then delivers an e-mail alert for each and every tender of those designated items, using key words to identify goods and services that could be produced, manufactured and/or supplied by a South African company.

Both Mashimbye and the IT team acknowledge the assistance and input from the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU), which implemented a similar programme in their sector with great results.

“[The system] allows us to contact the procurement officer for each tender in the designated sectors and ensures that they prioritise local companies supplying locally manufactured goods or services in their evaluation of submissions,” Mashimbye said.

“Secondly, it allows us to notify our own member companies who qualify to tender to pitch for the business.”

The amended regulations of the 2017 Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act require that all relevant organs of state purchase only locally produced products in certain sectors. But compliance remains an issue.

The Proudly SA tender monitoring system flags award dates and allows an officer at Proudly South African to follow up. – ANA