The National Treasury has taken new steps to improve the transparency of government procurement and tender processes through the issuance of an ‘instruction note’ to government accounting officers, which it says is designed to “combat fraud” and “improve accountability”.
The directive arises from concerns expressed by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in 2009 about the number of government tenders that had become tainted by corruption. He lamented at the time that a culture of “gifts, wining and dining, and all manner of enticement” had become pervasive.
The note, which has been issued in terms of the Public Finance Management Act, becomes effective immediately and covers all spheres of government and all competitive bids exceeding R500 000.
