Joint Strategic Resource (JSR) Submission on the Public Procurement Bill (B18B-2023)

The JSR argues that the Public Procurement Bill (B18B-2023) relies on an ineffective 'administrative paradigm' rather than a 'strategic contracting paradigm'. The submission highlights significant constitutional risks, particularly regarding the removal of price as a required criterion for tenders and the conflation of preference categories. It calls for the independence of regulatory functions from the National Treasury, the introduction of incentivized whistleblowing, and the adoption of open contracting standards to combat corruption and ensure value for money.

• The B18B-2023 version of the Bill contains constitutional ambiguities regarding whether procuring institutions or the National Treasury are the 'first mover' in establishing procurement policies.
• The revised Chapter 4 of the Bill removes price as a presumptively required criterion for evaluating value for money, which the JSR argues increases corruption risks and costs while contradicting the principles of section 217(1) of the Constitution.
• The Bill conflates two distinct constitutional mandates from section 217(2): the categories of preference in contract allocation and the advancement of persons disadvantaged by unfair discrimination, which the JSR predicts will lead to constitutional challenges.
• The JSR recommends that regulatory and enforcement functions be separated from the 'chief buyer' functions of the National Treasury and placed within an independent regulatory body to ensure impartiality and effectiveness in anti-corruption efforts.
• The Bill lacks a mechanism for incentivized whistleblowing; the JSR proposes an interim clause allowing informants to receive financial rewards for information that leads to the recovery of funds lost to procurement fraud.
• The current disclosure regime in section 33 of the Bill focuses only on transaction transparency and fails to require transparency for procurement policies or the use of machine-readable 'open data' across the full procurement cycle.

APA

Klaaren, J., Brunette, R., Komote, M., Meny-Gibert, S., Quinot, G., Riet, N. V. ‘., & Watermeyer, R. (2024). Joint Strategic Resource (JSR) Submission on the Public Procurement Bill (B18B-2023). Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/JSR-Submission_NCOP_Public-Procurement-Bill_Feb24.pdf

Chicago

Klaaren, Jonathan, Ryan Brunette, Motlatsi Komote, Sarah Meny-Gibert, Geo Quinot, Nicki Van ‘t Riet, and Ron Watermeyer. Joint Strategic Resource (JSR) Submission on the Public Procurement Bill (B18B-2023). Public Affairs Research Institute, 2024. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/JSR-Submission_NCOP_Public-Procurement-Bill_Feb24.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Klaaren |first1=Jonathan |last2=Brunette |first2=Ryan |last3=Komote |first3=Motlatsi |last4=Meny-Gibert |first4=Sarah |last5=Quinot |first5=Geo |last6=Riet |first6=Nicki Van ‘t |last7=Watermeyer |first7=Ron |title=Joint Strategic Resource (JSR) Submission on the Public Procurement Bill (B18B-2023) |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=22 February 2024 |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/JSR-Submission_NCOP_Public-Procurement-Bill_Feb24.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{klaaren2024joint, author = {Klaaren, Jonathan and Brunette, Ryan and Komote, Motlatsi and Meny-Gibert, Sarah and Quinot, Geo and Riet, Nicki Van ‘t and Watermeyer, Ron}, title = {{Joint Strategic Resource (JSR) Submission on the Public Procurement Bill (B18B-2023)}}, publisher = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2024}, month = feb, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/JSR-Submission_NCOP_Public-Procurement-Bill_Feb24.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }