Public Procurement Bill Amendment

In February 2020, Cabinet approved the publication of the Public Procurement Bill for public comment - setting in motion legislation for procurement strategies that support government’s socio-economic objectives.     

• The proposed bill serves to bring to the realisation many recommendations that have been made through the review of the existing public procurement function incorporating learnings that were implemented in practice notes. The effort to harmonise various legal prescripts such as BBBEE and the appointment of the national regulator are evident in the proposed bill.
• Lastly the bill also sets the tone for a strong central procurement capability that will be extended through the provinces to ensure a more tightly governed and standardised procurement discipline. These revisions are critical when the public spend has been severely criticised of misuse and abuse and there are drastic constraints on the fiscus.
• To this end, National Treasury conducted a public participation process in relation to the amendment of the Public Procurement Bill. Deloitte has submitted commentary that seeks to support and strengthen the final proposed bill and ensure that all stakeholders are able to meaningfully apply the policy in its envisaged intent.  We expect that the proposed bill will further enhance the state’s developmental agenda and transition into a future resilient regulator in the 4th industrial revolution.

Our recommendations are highlighted in 5 chapters, as follows:

• Material changes to the bill 
• Making the shift towards “Value for Money” 
• Enabling digital procurement capability  
• Government spend as catalyst for Local Economic Development
• Minimising leakage in government spend