President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the new Public Procurement Act will eliminate the problem of corruption in procurement which was highlighted by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo in the State Capture report. Picture: Kopano Tlape / GCIS
In his From the Desk of the President newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that new Public Procurement Act that he signed into law will eliminate a problem Chief Justice Raymond Zondo identified in the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture report.
The problem that Zondo referred to was corruption in procurement which he called “the centrepiece of state capture”.
Ramaphosa said that the law eliminated the problem identified by Zondo of fragmentation in procurement laws by creating a cohesive regulatory framework.
A few days ago, as part of the extensive work we areundertaking to prevent corruption and consign state capture to the past, I signed into law the Public Procurement Act. This law eliminates the problem identified by Chief Justice Zondo of fragmentation in procurement laws by… pic.twitter.com/XPQdaY3Cf4
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) July 29, 2024
The new law will also establish a Public Procurement Office in the National Treasury which will have measures in place to ensure the integrity of the procurement process.
According to Ramaphosa, the new procurement office will promote standardisation in procurement and modernise the system through technology and innovation.
“The law focuses on the people who are involved in procurement requiring them to comply with a code of conduct and receive professional development and training,” Ramaphosa said.
With this procurement law, no government officials may be directed to violate the required procurement processes and they cannot be victimised for reporting unlawful instructions.
This is an important provision because many of the abuses that took place during the state capture era involved political office bearers, business people and others putting pressure on managers to flout procurement regulations.
People are not allowed to interfere with, influence or tamper with any tender bid after its submission or award.
If a supplier is found to have abused the procurement system or committed fraud and corruption, they are prevented through a ‘debarment order’ from participating in any procurement processes for a specified period.
People that are excluded from submitting bids include:
– public office bearers
– public servants in any sphere of government
– officials in Parliament
– officials in provincial legislatures
– special advisers
– employees of public entities
The Public Procurement Act aims to make the procurement system more transparent by using technology to disclose procurement information, including awards of bids, the process followed and suppliers awarded.
Ramaphosa said that the new law provides for the allocation of contracts to advance companies owned by historically disadvantaged people, including black South Africans, women, youth, persons with disabilities and military veterans.
The Act will also allow for and encourage the procurement of South African goods and services.
“It will enable government and public entities to use procurement more strategically and effectively to promote the growth of local industry and to create jobs to meet the needs of the state,” Ramaphosa said.
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