National Treasury has announced the replacement of measures relating to COVID-19 emergency procurement.

“National Treasury is replacing measures relating to COVID-19 Disaster Management Central Emergency Procurement Strategy, namely Instruction Note 3 of 2020/21 and Circular 101. The new measures will be Instruction Note 5 of 2020/21 for PFMA [Public Finance Management Act] institutions and Circular 102 for MFMA [Municipal Finance Management Act] institutions,” it said in a statement.

The replacement, said Treasury, follows on various representations that have raised concerns about the procurement process.  Treasury said the approach adopted had excluded a number of domestic suppliers and that it covered too wide an array of goods, especially goods that can be manufactured locally.

The new instruction note and circular will provide measures to put in place for COVID-19 emergency procurement, as well as open the supply of these products to all suppliers conforming to the specifications and registered on the Central Supplier Database (CSD) of government.

The instruction note and circular will also outline the required personal protective equipment (PPE) item specifications, according to the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, national Department of Health and World Health Organisation requirements.

It will also outline the maximum prices at which government will procure PPE items, and outline the emergency procurement, monitoring and reporting requirements.

In the statement, Treasury said it is committed to the Constitutional objective of having fair, equitable transparent, competitive and cost-effective procurement processes, which take into account the need for procuring essential health products required to fight the pandemic.

“These processes should be compliant with the country’s imperatives of promoting structural transformation and broadening participation in the economy to strengthen economic development and empowerment of previously disadvantaged groups and individuals,” it said.

The instruction note and circular will be published on the National Treasury website soon.