WC Government spends over 67% of Covid-19 budget on local SMMEs
It has been revealed by the Provincial Treasury that, to date, the Western Cape Government has spent 67.35% of all Covid-19 expenditure on Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) since the pandemic started in March 2020. These SMMEs include businesses which are BBBEE compliant, local suppliers, and businesses earning less than R10 million a year.
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The Provincial Treasury briefed the Standing Committee on Finance, Economic Opportunity and Tourism on its Procurement Disclosure Report as well as its work in supporting of the conditional grants transferred to local municipalities.
The majority of all Covid-19 products and services have been procured from local service providers in South Africa, with the overwhelming majority based in the Western Cape.
MPP Deidré Baartman says: “In total, more than R1.28bn has been spent on the procurement of goods and services from Western Cape businesses. While all of government is needed to adjust to the new environment, the Provincial Treasury supported every department and entity in leveraging their spending to help our businesses and, in particular, our SMMEs. In total, more than 60% of all expenditure, or R1.23bn, went to B-BBEE businesses. This showcases the Western Cape Government’s commitment to leveraging its work to support our local economy.
However, my concern is that the procurement process has become so over-regulated through legislation adopted by the National Treasury that departments and entities across the board find it challenging to comply with every regulation and still meet its mandate to provide excellent services to residents. A procurement system that cannot rapidly adapt to changes in society creates unnecessary obstacles. For this reason, we call on the National Treasury to accelerate it work on the Draft Public Procurement Bill which was published last year.”
