Treasury has granted exemptions from race-based procurement tests for new Eskom and Transnet contracts
“Pencil-test procurement” pause proves the point
25 March 2022
Treasury has granted exemptions from race-based procurement tests for new contracts offered by Eskom and Transnet – as recommended by the IRR – to serve the public interest of South Africa.
This is a welcome development following earlier indications that the government was poised to grind itself to a total halt in the name of race-based ideology.
In February the Constitutional Court struck down regulations that disqualified companies from bidding for government contracts on the basis of race. Thereafter, Treasury Director General, Dondo Mogajane, issued an advisory to halt all new government tenders from being issued while Treasury continues to probe exotic routes to reinstate the unconstitutional regulations.
Said IRR head of campaigns Gabriel Crouse: “The message was unfortunately that it would be better to sabotage all essential services by halting their replenishment than to let South African businesses compete on merit. Alarm lights flashed red.”
