WHEREAS section 217(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, stipulates that contracting of goods and services by organs of state in the national, provincial and local sphere of government, and other institutions identified in national legislation, must occur in accordance with a system which is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective;
AND WHEREAS section 217(2) of the Constitution permits organs of state and the identified other institutions, to implement a procurement policy providing for categories of preference in the allocation of contracts and the protection or advancement of persons, or categories of persons, disadvantaged by unfair discrimination;
AND WHEREAS section 217(3) of the Constitution requires that national legislation must prescribe a framework within which the policy referred to in section 217(2) of the Constitution must be implemented;
AND WHEREAS section 216(1) of the Constitution requires national legislation to prescribe measures to ensure both transparency and expenditure control in each sphere of government by introducing, among others, uniform treasury norms and standards;
AND WHEREAS section 195(1) and (3) of the Constitution provides that national legislation must among others ensure the promotion in public administration of the following principles:
- a high standard of professional ethics;
- efficient, economic and effective use of resources; and
- development-oriented, accountability and transparency;
AND WHILE RECOGNISING the need to increase the capacity of organs of state to provide goods and services they require, procurement of goods and services from persons outside the State, where necessary, must be regulated;
AND RECOGNISING that legislation regulating procurement by organs of state is fragmented and legislation regulating preferential procurement constrains justified advancement of persons or categories of persons;
AND RECOGNISING the need for promoting economic transformation within the ownership and management control of black people and advancing preferential procurement from enterprises that are owned and managed by black people in terms of the codes of good practice on black economic empowerment issued in terms of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, 2003 (Act No. 53 of 2003), in order to enable meaningful participation of black people in the economy;
AND IN ORDER TO create a single framework that regulates public procurement, including preferential procurement, by all organs of state, which among others—
- promotes the use of technology for efficiency and effectiveness; and
- enhances transparency and integrity, among others, to combat corruption,
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:—