Public Procurement in South Africa: Issues and Reform Options

Selected Issues Papers, June 26, 2023

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Public Procurement in South Africa: Issues and Reform Options

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Bibliographic details

• Authors: Alejandro Simone, Vybhavi Balasundharam
• Published: June 26, 2023
• Series: Selected Issues Papers
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400244339.018

Summary findings

• The 2015 Supply Chain Management Review lays out a sound agenda for procurement reform.
• The ongoing work on a new procurement bill and regulations are an important opportunity to spearhead procurement reform and step-up implementation.
• Priority reform aspects identified:
  • Simplification and standardization of procurement procedures.
  • Standardization of transparency requirements through the adoption of the Open Contracting Data Standards.
  • Transitioning to a new e-procurement system that is linked to the government’s integrated financial management information system (IFMIS) and other systems.
  • Making preferential procurement more cost effective and goal oriented.
  • Strengthening staff capacity to carry out procurement.
• Opportunities to centralize procurement should be further explored to leverage and develop limited capacity.

Policy recommendations and reform options

• Prioritize simplification and standardization of procurement procedures to improve efficiency and implementation.
• Adopt the Open Contracting Data Standards to standardize transparency requirements.
• Transition to a new e-procurement system integrated with IFMIS and other government systems to improve linkage and data flows.
• Reform preferential procurement to make it more cost effective and focused on clearly defined goals.
• Strengthen procurement staff capacity through targeted training and institutional support.
• Explore further centralization of procurement functions to leverage limited capacity across government entities.

Subject areas and keywords

• Subject: Economic sectors, Expenditure, Expenditure efficiency, Integrated financial management information systems, International organization, Monetary policy, Open data, Public financial management (PFM), Public sector, Technology
• Keywords: Africa, e-procurement system, Expenditure efficiency, Integrated financial management information systems, National Government Expenditure, Open data, Performance of Government, procurement contract, procurement reform, Public Goods, Public Procurement, Public sector, reform option, step-up implementation

Content in this bundle

• Public Procurement in South Africa: Issues and Reform Options
  • Public Procurement in South Africa: Issues and Reform Options (Markdown version)
  • Public Procurement in South Africa: Issues and Reform Options (PDF)