Failure to utilise the open tender system by Gauteng Government opens room for corruption

5 November 2023

The open-tender system implemented by the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) is not fully being utilised by all departments, which opens the door to corruption.

This also means that only a few connected individuals continue to benefit from government tenders.

Furthermore, millions of rands have been spent on probity auditors to ensure that the advertisement and project specifications are correct.

This information was revealed in a recent briefing to the Gauteng Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) by the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA).

According to the AGSA, only 37% of GPG projects with an estimated value of R2 million were initiated through the open tender process.

Several departments are not using this system despite the process being decentralised.

This system was implemented to ensure transparency and to reduce unauthorised, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure.

This is unacceptable because the departments and entities that are not adhering to the open tender system are contravening the Act that makes the process mandatory for tenders above R2 million.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng will be tabling a detailed set of questions to determine why all departments are not adhering to the open tender system and what measures are being put in place to enforce this law.

Issued by Adriana Randall, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Finance, 5 November 2023