Gauteng Finance MEC misleading the public on open tender system

6 September 2016

Gauteng Finance MEC Barbara Creecy has been misleading the public about the Open Tender System, by stating that the province is the only government in the world that has such a system, and challenged the DA to implement such a system. 

 Her assertions are factually incorrect.

 The Open Tender process involves opening up the various committees that award tenders in government departments to public and media scrutiny, in order to improve transparency and minimise the possibility of corruption in the process.

 Since MEC Creecy announced this system would be adopted in Gauteng, it has been implemented at a snail’s pace in Gauteng, and eight provincial government tenders have been adjudicated in an open, fair and transparent manner since 2014. 

 Gauteng government websites provide little detail about where one can attend these meetings to observe - in effect creating an open process only for those who have access to the information. In contrast, the DA first pioneered the open tender system in the City of Cape Town on 1 July 2006, immediately after taking office - where all meetings of the committees involved in the awarding of tenders (the Bid Adjudication Committee) were opened to the public and media. 

 Since its inception in 2006 - R15-billion worth of tenders every single financial year have been awarded in an open, fair and transparent manner. 

 The DA-led Western Cape provincial government followed suit in 2009, and the policy has been a mainstay of the DA's election manifesto in 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2016 as one of our key corruption-busting measures.

 The City of Cape Town also boasts the best figures for awarding tenders to BBBEE compliant firms, since the DA does not continuously empower the same individuals over and over based on party membership and links to the ruling elite. 

 State capture does not happen under DA administrations.

 The DA takes transparency seriously, as openness is more than just opening meetings to the public. 

 Access to tenders is equally important - all tenders and quotes above R2000 are advertised on the City of Cape Town website and companies registered in a given tender category receive a text message whenever a new tender is listed, to maximise the number of bids received. 

 The Western Cape Provincial Government has adopted a similar approach.

 If the ANC is serious about transparent, open government, I challenge MEC Creecy to immediately open all the bid adjudication and bid evaluation committees in every Gauteng Government department to the public and media. 

 No tender should be awarded in secret, unless the ANC in Gauteng still have something to hide. 

 I further challenge the MEC to be an honest politician and not claim easy victories or bragging rights that she and the ANC do not deserve. 

 The DA pioneered and maintains the open tender system where we govern and will continue to use it as part of our comprehensive toolkit to combat corruption.

Issued by Ashor Sarupen, DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Finance, 6 September 2016