OUTA has made constructive submissions to National Treasury on the Public Procurement Bill, to emphasise the importance of the successful implementation of a strong and strict procurement process. Julius Kleynhans, Strategy and Development Executive at OUTA, says this legislative reform has been a long time coming, and now it must be properly implemented to improve public spending.  

“We believe the Bill is a good document that will enhance accountability when it comes to putting hard-earned taxes to work,” Julius shares. 

“South Africa’s tax revenue is shrinking and we have a gaping budget deficit, so it’s crucial that the goods and services are procured in accordance with a system that is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective, as envisioned in the Constitution.”

In OUTA’s submission, we highlighted areas we believe should be focused on to curb corruption, or procurement processes that should be addressed in the Bill. These included: 

• Deviations from accepted procurement practice;

• Expansions of contracts well above the original value;

• Extensions of contracts to include scope that should be sent out to tender;

• Fronting issues;

• Single sourcing;

• Copying and pasting the requirements of a specific supplier’s product brochure or website into the Terms of Reference (TOR), and detailing the requirements of the TOR in such a way that only one supplier can provide the goods or services;

• Collusive bidding practices;

• Political interference to influence the awarding of a tender;

• Inter-governmental procurement; and

• Inadequate oversight: why has the National Treasury never taken the blacklist seriously?
  
  

Read OUTA’s analysis along with the Draft Procurement Bill.