This article has been supplied and will be available for a limited time only on this website. Procurement and supply chain professionals must move beyond simply reducing costs and instead become architects of economic growth, infrastructure delivery, investment confidence and national competitiveness if Africa is to realise its enormous economic potential.
That was the message from South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner Dr Johnstone Makhubu as he this morning opened the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) Southern Africa Connect & Engage Conference 2026 at the Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff in Johannesburg.
Hosted by CIPS – the world's largest professional body for procurement and supply, representing more than 200,000 professionals and learners across more than 180 countries – the two-day conference has brought together senior business, government and procurement leaders from across Africa to examine how procurement is becoming one of the continent's most important drivers of economic resilience, infrastructure delivery and long-term growth.
Addressing delegates, Dr Makhubu said procurement had fundamentally evolved from an operational support function into a strategic economic enabler capable of determining whether countries attract investment, accelerate infrastructure delivery, strengthen industrialisation, create jobs and improve national competitiveness.
