MEDIA STATEMENT
Public Interest SA Welcomes the Enactment of the Public Procurement Act
Johannesburg, Wednesday, 23 July 2024 – Public Interest SA welcomes President Cyril Ramaphosa's enactment of the Public Procurement Act yesterday, a significant milestone in reforming the public procurement landscape in South Africa. This landmark legislation aims to create a unified and robust framework for the regulation of public procurement, ensuring that it is conducted in a manner that is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive, and cost-effective, in line with Section 217 of the Constitution.
The Public Procurement Act represents a critical step forward in addressing long-standing weaknesses in the procurement of goods and services by organs of state, which have previously enabled various degrees of ineptitude and corruption, including state capture. By establishing a single framework for public procurement, including preferential procurement, the Act promotes the use of technology to enhance efficiency and effectiveness, ultimately combating corruption and ensuring the prudent use of public resources.
Public Interest SA acknowledges the Act's potential to stimulate economic development through the procurement of locally produced goods and services, as well as its focus on developmental procurement. This is essential for advancing transformation and broadening economic participation in our country.
However, while we commend the passing of the Public Procurement Act, we also recognise that the devil is in the detail. It is imperative that the implementation of regulations and guidelines be drawn up expeditiously to ensure that the Act’s objectives are fully realised. These details are crucial for addressing the many weaknesses that persist in the public procurement environment.
We note that the Act, although comprehensive, missed an opportunity to address all the nuances and challenges within the current procurement system comprehensively. These challenges and weaknesses range from poor interagency collaboration to government digital assets availability and reliability for e-procurement to succeed. Nonetheless, it remains a vital tool in improving the performance of state agencies like the State Information Technology Agency (SITA), which is responsible for procuring IT goods and services on behalf of government departments. In particular, the ensuing regulations should provide for enhancements in SITA’s performance in the area of e-procurement, customers's IT systems integrity assurance thus ensuring greater reliability, efficiency and accountability.
Public Interest SA looks forward to working closely with all stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the Public Procurement Act and to continue advocating for reforms that promote integrity, transparency, efficiency, and ethical conduct in public procurement.
End of Statement
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