In March 2014 Prof Geo Quinot of the African Public Procurement Regulation Research Unit (APPRRU) delivered a commissioned research report to the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO) in South Africa’s National Treasury on the current state of public procurement regulation in South Africa and the need for reform.
The 160-page report noted the fragmented nature of the law currently governing public procurement in South Africa. It further analysed evidence of the adverse effect that the current state of procurement law is having on supply chain functions and consequently public administration.
The report recommended that government pursue a comprehensive strategy of public procurement regulatory reform. The first recommended step is to create a public procurement regulator in South Africa by means of dedicated legislation. Such an entity should consequently be tasked with the reform of the substantive law governing public procurement, a high priority of which should be the consolidation of the current rules on procurement.