The approval of the Public Procurement Bill by cabinet has received the thumbs up from Black Business Council (BBC) and trade union federation Cosatu.
The constitution stipulates that procurement must occur in accordance with a system which is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective.
This allows for organs of state to implement a procurement policy providing for categories of preference in the allocation of contracts and the protection or advancement of persons disadvantaged by unfair discrimination within a framework prescribed by national legislation.
In that regard, the BBC stated that the bill repeals the problematic and anti-transformational Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act.
“The public will soon be called to make its inputs to the appropriate parliamentary portfolio committee responsible for that purpose,” said BBC CEO Kganki Matabane.
“The parliamentary public participation process, therefore, will provide progressive South Africans with an opportunity to ensure that the Public Procurement Bill reflects the constitutional objectives of empowerment and socio-economic transformation.
“This is the most important legislation, secondary only to the constitution. The bill will enable the state to use its procurement spend as a lever to transform the economy.
“It will provide an opportunity to set aside a percentage of state procurement for disadvantaged groups, as well as promote localisation to practically prioritise local job creation.”
He added that President Cyril Ramaphosa has said on numerous occasions that government had resolved to set aside 40% of public procurement to women-owned businesses in a bid to achieve equality.
“The BBC has always advised president Ramaphosa and government that this resolution is not implementable as it is not in the primary legislation for public procurement.
“We call on all progressive South Africans to ready themselves to participate in the process of making sure that the bill responds to the constitutional objectives of fairness, equity, transparency, advancement of persons disadvantaged by unfair discrimination, and provides for categories of preference in the allocation of contracts, including localisation measures in the public procurement system,” he said.
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