Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana briefed reporters on the Preferential Procurement Regulations on Tuesday.
- The new regulations govern the contracting rules for all state entities and companies.
- Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has denied that they are a setback to the transformation.
- The new regulations were prompted by a Constitutional Court ruling earlier this year.
On Tuesday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana briefed reporters on the Preferential Procurement Regulations.
The new regulations have been criticized by some sectors, but the minister has denied that they are a setback for the transformation.
This week on The Story, we break down the regulations with News24 Business General Writer Carol Paton.
A ruling by the Constitutional Court gave rise to the new regulations in February that repealed the existing regulations.
Paton said: “The reason they were overturned was because the minister didn’t have the power to make them, so they were too wide in scope in terms of what the law would allow.”
READ | Carol Paton: Why Godongwana’s bet on wet squib public service strike is safe?
He added that black power companies “get extra points” when they do business with the state and that “all bids are scored on a points system.”
“It’s still very advantageous to have black power, and in fact, government departments and state-owned companies can still add their own empowerment criteria.”
Paton said the new regulations were “not a huge game changer.”
He added that there had been confusion around the new regulations as “there was no explanation at the time”. [National] Treasury did this; they just posted the regulations and didn’t explain.”
“Once you get familiar with what it means, there’s really no policy change.”
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