A joint stakeholder perspective on the Draft Public Procurement Regulations currently under consideration by the National Treasury on Constitutional Transformation was presented on Tuesday.
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A more decentralised and responsive procurement support system that strengthens capacity at provincial and municipal levels should be explored, according to Procurement Performance Institute CEO Nduduzo Ngema.
“Such an approach could improve accessibility for local businesses, deepen participation in township and rural economies, and create a procurement ecosystem that is more inclusive and responsive to local development needs.”
“At the same time, decentralisation must be accompanied by robust governance, transparency, and oversight mechanisms to safeguard the integrity of the procurement system,” he said.
Ngema was one of the stakeholders who presented this week at an event that focused on the Draft Public Procurement Regulations currently under consideration by the National Treasury. Stakeholders recognised that government procurement could become a breeding ground for corruption if the regulations are too rigid and centrally controlled.
Therefore, “corruption proofing” of public procurement processes was deemed essential.
“The presentation follows an extensive stakeholder engagement process involving organisations from business, academia, traditional leadership, civil society, and organised business, all committed to advancing South Africa's constitutional vision of an inclusive and transformed economy,” a statement from the joint stakeholders said.
They said that at the heart of the submission is the proposition that public procurement should not merely be viewed as an administrative function for acquiring goods and services, but as one of the state's most strategic instruments for driving economic transformation, industrialisation, job creation, localisation, and broad-based black economic empowerment.
“Public procurement accounts for hundreds of billions of rand in public expenditure each year. How these resources are allocated has significant implications for enterprise development, economic participation, and inclusive growth,” added the statement.
The stakeholder organisations welcomed the government's efforts to modernise the procurement system through the Public Procurement Act and the accompanying Draft Public Procurement Regulations.
“Section 217...requires the procurement systems to be fair, equitable, transparent, competitive, and cost-effective, while also permitting procurement policies that advance persons disadvantaged by unfair discrimination,” they said.
“This constitutional framework establishes procurement as a developmental instrument capable of advancing substantive equality and inclusive economic participation,” they said.
The statement added that the parties argue that procurement reform must contribute meaningfully to addressing structural inequality, expanding productive economic participation, and supporting South Africa's long-term developmental objectives.
“Procurement should reinforce national efforts aimed at industrialisation, localisation, enterprise and supplier development, and the expansion of black-owned businesses throughout public and private sector value chains,” they said.
The statement said that the joint submission is organised around eight thematic areas. “Theme One provides an overall assessment of the draft regulations and identifies structural concerns relating to developmental procurement, localisation, industrialisation, enterprise and supplier development, black industrialists, and opportunities for SMMEs, cooperatives, township, and rural enterprises.”
The statement added that Theme Two considers the broader constitutional question regarding the application of the transformative objectives contained in Section 217 of the Constitution and "encourages further dialogue on restructuring economic participation across strategic sectors."
The statement said that Theme Three reflects on South Africa's procurement reform journey, including the developmental vision contained in the 1996 Green Paper on Public Sector Procurement Reform, and considers whether the current reforms sufficiently preserve those original aspirations.
“Themes Four to Eight critically examine the proposed preferential procurement framework, infrastructure procurement, strategic procurement categories such as travel, accommodation, legal services, and leases, institutional arrangements relating to procurement governance, and the proposed procurement methods and procedures,” added the statement.
The statement said that these themes seek to stimulate constructive engagement on whether the proposed regulations provide adequate policy instruments to accelerate Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, strengthen local production, support supplier development, and promote inclusive economic growth.
Commissioner Tshediso Matona of the B-BBEE Commission said that South Africa is currently undertaking one of the most significant reforms of its public procurement system since the advent of democracy. “The Public Procurement Act and the Draft General Public Procurement Regulations present an opportunity to strengthen governance, improve efficiency, and modernise procurement administration across the public sector. These reforms deserve recognition.”
Dr Shevonne Henry, Chairperson of the Policy and Research Committee, Black Management Forum, said that public procurement remains one of the state's most powerful instruments for advancing economic transformation.
“The reality is that South Africa's private sector remains highly concentrated, while the public sector continues to be the primary employer of black professionals and an important pathway for black-owned enterprises to enter, grow, and scale within the economy. This is precisely why preferential procurement policies remain indispensable.”
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