BBC welcomes the approval of the Public Procurement Bill by Cabinet

16 May 2023

The Black Business Council (BBC) welcomes the approval, last week, of the long-awaited draft Public Procurement Bill by cabinet. The Bill repeals the problematic and anti-transformational Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA) of 2000 (Act 5 of 200).

The public will soon be called to make its inputs to the appropriate Parliamentary Portfolio Committee responsible for that purpose. 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.

To the BBC, 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 SA 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.

H.E. President Ramaphosa has, on numerous occasions, said 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 i.e. PPPFA.

The BBC calls 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.

Issued by the Black Business Council, 16 May 2023