Cape Town mayor Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said the aim to overhaul procurement and fight corruption is undermined by the fatal flaws in public participation and unlawful passing of the Public Procurement Act.
While the City of Cape Town and Western Cape Provincial Government headed to the Constitutional Court to challenge the Public Procurement Act, trade federation COSATU says keeping the status quo will allow the "wild west that is public procurement to continue".
The Act, which will bring all procurement within the state under a central office housed in the National Treasury, also sets guidelines for preferential procurement in accordance with the government’s Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment policies.
The City of Cape Town argues that as a result, municipalities won’t be able to maintain their own database of accredited suppliers, and payments to suppliers will need to be integrated with a national database.
Cosatu Parliamentary spokesperson, Matthew Parks, said they are not convinced by the arguments presented to the Constitutional Court and fear the City and the province are putting the cart before the horse.
