Where in authorities parlance does a ‘circular’ to departments asking them to possess interaction all (BEE) tenders after 16 February in abeyance, translate as a non-binding ‘advisory’? Billions of rands of tenders are in fact iced – main to shortfalls of seriously wished medical and firefighting equipment in numerous provinces – after the Treasury DG, Dondo Mogajane, despatched out the circular, which he now legally concedes is non-binding on recipients. The context is the Constitutional Courtroom struck down the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act that allowed organs of reveal to disqualify bidders from a tender in the event that they weren’t 100% unlit owned. That skill that from 16 February, it’s support to the previous dispensation, i.e. that a bidder’s BEE build would develop up some portion of their final tender score, in total 10% or 20%. Nonetheless freezing them and issuing no new tenders? Is the ANC’s predominant aim provider delivery or BEE? Time to develop up its mind or lose energy. Article republished courtesy of MyBroadband. – Chris Bateman
Treasury bringing South Africa to standstill after BEE loss in court
Health center doctors could rapidly be with out very well-known equipment and firefighters with out protective equipment attributable to an ‘advisory’ issued by National Treasury this week following its Constitutional Courtroom loss over BEE procurement principles.
In mid-February, Sakeliga talked about it gained a predominant victory in its advertising and marketing campaign in opposition to Dark Economic Empowerment (BEE) policies. The Constitutional Courtroom dominated that BEE guidelines issued by pale finance minister Pravin Gordhan in 2017 had been invalid and unconstitutional.
These guidelines, issued below the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act, allowed organs of reveal to disqualify bidders from a tender in the event that they weren’t 100% unlit-owned. Previously, all bids submitted per tender specs could be regarded as as, and the bidder’s BEE build would develop up some portion of their final score, in total 10% or 20%.
Following the Constitutional Courtroom ruling, National Treasury director-total Dondo Mogajane issued a circular to authorities departments pointing out that:
- Tenders marketed sooner than 16 February 2022 be finalised in the case of the Procurement Laws struck down by the ConCourt.
- Tenders marketed on or after 16 February 2022 be held in abeyance.
- No new tenders be marketed.
Sakeliga CEO Piet le Roux decried the circular as an unlawful instruction.
On the opposite hand, on Thursday, Le Roux revealed that Mogajane had conceded that the circular turn out to be no longer binding in response to their questions.
No topic Mogajane’s assurance that the circular turn out to be merely advisory, municipal governments in Cape Town and Johannesburg talked about it had placed them in a posh space.
Afrikaans-language newspaper Rapport reported that in Cape Town, tenders to the rate of a full bunch of hundreds of hundreds are standing peaceable. Quoting Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, the paper wrote that the metropolitan municipality had hoped to originate a tender for extremely well-known medical equipment by 22 March. It entails new blood stress monitors, blood glucose sensors, stethoscopes, and assorted medical devices for the metropolis’s clinics.
One other instance of a well-known tender stuck in limbo is one for weatherproof jackets and fireplace-retardant clothing for the metropolis’s firefighters.
Johannesburg spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane told Rapport that tenders of R1.3 billion are standing peaceable in South Africa’s economic hub.
Modingoane warned that Treasury’s embargo would possess a large impact on provider delivery, the metropolis’s procurement notion for the one year, and their built-in pattern notion targets.
Hill-Lewis and Modingoane also warned that rather a pair of contracts that are renewed month-to-month would someway must be cancelled if Treasury’s moratorium dragged on.
Within the Western Cape, provincial finance minister David Maynier talked about Mogajane’s circular would instantly stop 86 tenders to the rate of R1.85 billion planned for March 2022.
Maynier talked about that he has written to national finance minister Enoch Godongwana to are looking ahead to of that Treasury urgently withdraw the purpose out. Thus a ways, Mogajane has refused to withdraw the circular and as one more wrote to Sakeliga to define that the purpose out turn out to be purely an “advisory document”. Sakeliga warned that National Treasury turn out to be growing a semblance of lawfulness for the continuing application of BEE-based fully pre-disqualification of tenders.
“This while the Constitutional Courtroom now has someway confirmed the invalidity of the BEE-based fully pre-disqualification in the case of the 2017 guidelines of the Minister of Finance,” Sakeliga’s Le Roux talked about. “At the present time’s letter by the Director-Fashioned to Sakeliga has eliminated the need for urgent litigation and skill that authorities institutions could now proceed with procurement, no topic National Treasury’s bear in mind of the judgment in favour of Sakeliga handed down by the Constitutional Courtroom on 16 February.”
Sakeliga talked about it is a ways on standby to resort to litigation again should always National Treasury or assorted authorities institutions try to sidestep the Constitutional Courtroom’s judgment.
Read also:
- BEE abuse – eternal vigilance wished: Anthea Jeffery
- Affirmative motion, BEE has introduced Eskom to its knees – FF Plus
- “To present SA’s unhappy a gamble, BEE desires to be scrapped and replaced” – John Endres
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