‘Tenders must be open to public scrutiny’
THE government tender system has to be made an open process to the public across all three spheres of government so that communities know the business people that are benefiting.
This is according to Public Service and Administration Deputy Minister Ayanda Dlodlo, who said open contracting should be introduced across the board as part of showing transparency.
“People must know about who is given a contract in projects that happen in their communities, and they must know how to take part in them. We have always been regarded as one of the best in terms of budget transparency, but that is not enough. We need to go further,” she said.
Dlodlo was speaking at Lilies Farm in Johannesburg yesterday on the sidelines of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) meeting, an initiative that involves 69 countries and civil society organisations.
The OGP is aimed at improving government performance and public participation by promoting transparency of governance.
Dlodlo has been chair of the initiative since October last year.
Yesterday’s meeting was for the OGP leadership committee to craft a plan of action for the SA chairmanship, which will be handed over to France in October.
This include an event that will be hosted by President Jacob Zuma on the margins of the UN General Assembly in May, which will look at improving the effectiveness of the inter-governmental partnership. Other countries include France, US and Mexico.
The OGP acting executive director, Joe Powell, said countries were looking to learn serious lessons from SA chairmanship, including on fiscal transparency.
“In terms of fiscal transparency, SA is the best in the world.
“Many governments want to paint a glossy picture about how it is doing in terms of finances. For a country to be honest enough about its purse, that is good and worth learning from,” said Powell.
He, however, said SA’s public procurement was the one that needed immediate fixing.
Dlodlo said the government was currently creating a portal for government tenders. Gauteng province has already moved to make its tender open to the public.
OGP co-chairman for civil society Alejandro Gonzalez said the effectiveness of open governance was as much a responsibility of government as it was of civil society.