Statement on the Public Procurement Bill 2023

The Procurement Reform Working Group (PRWG) supports the introduction of the Public Procurement Bill 2023 as a means to simplify South Africa's fragmented procurement legal framework, which currently consists of over 100 pieces of legislation. However, the PRWG argues that the Bill fails to provide clear definitions for 'preferential procurement' and 'public procurement' and grants excessive law-making power to the National Treasury and the Public Procurement Office. The group advocates for the Bill to contain concrete core rules and principles—including open contracting and proactive transparency—rather than relying on subordinate legislation, to ensure the system is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive, and cost-effective.

• The current public procurement regulatory framework in South Africa is dysfunctional due to its complexity, comprising over 100 pieces of legislation, including regulations, instruction notes, and policies, which creates incoherence and opportunities for abuse.
• The Public Procurement Bill 2023 contains definitions for 'preferential procurement' and 'public procurement' that are inconsistent with global understandings and may lead to future interpretation challenges.
• The Bill grants excessive law-making authority to the National Treasury, the Public Procurement Office, and organs of state, risking a return to a system where core rules are hidden in subordinate legislation rather than established in the primary Act.
• To be effective, the Bill must incorporate core principles such as open contracting, proactive transparency, and a commitment to sustainable procurement and economic development to expand the economy's productive base.

APA

Public Affairs Research Institute (2023). Statement on the Public Procurement Bill 2023. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/PRWG-Statement-re-Public-Procurement-Bill_11Sep23.pdf

Chicago

Public Affairs Research Institute. Statement on the Public Procurement Bill 2023. 2023. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/PRWG-Statement-re-Public-Procurement-Bill_11Sep23.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Public Affairs Research Institute |title=Statement on the Public Procurement Bill 2023 |date=11 September 2023 |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/PRWG-Statement-re-Public-Procurement-Bill_11Sep23.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{publicaffairsresearchinstitute2023statement, author = {{Public Affairs Research Institute}}, title = {{Statement on the Public Procurement Bill 2023}}, publisher = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/PRWG-Statement-re-Public-Procurement-Bill_11Sep23.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }