New tender regulation Bill to be introduced

SA's Cabinet is expected to soon release a Bill on procurement to regulate the issue of tenders across the state. A Cape Times report says the Public Procurement Bill has been in the making for a while but it is now before the Cabinet. Acting chief procurement officer in the National Treasury Willie Mathebula said this was an overarching Bill to deal with tenders. MPs have been concerned about lack of controls in procurement divisions in departments and state-owned entities (SOEs) resulting in corruption cases. Mathebula said they needed to regulate procurement in the state. ‘We don’t have an overarching legislation in the country. There is a lot of fragmentation. The purpose of the Public Procurement Bill is to eliminate that fragmentation in the system.’ Mathembula said the Zondo Commission and other commissions of inquiry had revealed how procurement processes were flouted during state capture. This was one of the key things that the Bill in regulating procurement would focus on. He said the Bill would strengthen governance in departments and SOEs.