Budget 2023
Share

Tender advertisements in newspapers to be 'phased out'

Johannesburg - All government tender documents are planned to be made available on an e-tender portal by April this year.

This is according to the Minister of Finance Nhlanhla Nene in his 2015 national budget speech in Parliament.

“In close collaboration with the State Information Technology Agency, a central e-tender portal will be implemented from April this year,” said Nene.

“It will be compulsory that all tenders be advertised on this portal, and all tender documents will be freely available there. Tender advertisements in newspapers and the government gazette will be phased out,” he added.

In addition, Minister Nene said that in April 2015, a central supplier database will also be introduced.

“Suppliers will only be required to register once when they do business with the state. This will significantly reduce the administrative burden for business, especially small and medium-sized enterprises.

“The database will interface with SARS, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission and the payroll system. It will electronically verify a supplier’s tax and BEE status, and enable public sector officials doing business with the state to be identified. This intervention will also reduce the administrative burden for SCM practitioners and address many of the concerns raised by the Auditor-General every year,” said Nene.

Analyst reaction

Adrian Schofield, from the Board of the Institute of IT Professionals, said the move to set up an e-portal for tenders is a positive one, but that questions surround its implementation.

“On the face of it, it would appear to be an open process that would allow free access to all tenders for all people,” said Schofield.

“It sounds good. In theory it's a more open process,” he said.

But Schofield said there are questions regarding how easy the portal will be to navigate and how the information will be displayed.

Schofield also raised questions about how South Africans who are not connected to the internet will be able to access the tender information.

Of the country’s estimated 50 million population, South Africa had 24.9 million internet users in 2014, according to Internet World Stats.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.1%
Rand - Pound
23.91
-0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.41
+0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.33
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.0%
Platinum
908.05
+1.2%
Palladium
1,014.94
+1.3%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders