Year of assessment | 2023-2024 |
Date of publication | November 2024 |
Country procurement volume | 53.4 billion USD (2022) |
Principal organisation | National Treasury of South Africa |
Main partners | OECD, World Bank (WB), African Development Bank (AfDB) |
South Africa
Recognizing the central role that public procurement plays in public service delivery, financial management, and sustainable development, this MAPS MAIN assessment resulted in recommendations targeting legal and regulatory consolidation, improved institutional governance, enhanced procurement efficiency, and strengthened accountability and transparency.

Quick facts
Background
Why was a MAPS assessment initiated?
The assessment aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of South Africa’s public procurement system, identify weaknesses, and support ongoing reforms, including the Public Procurement Bill submitted to Parliament in 2023.
Who initiated the assessment?
Conducted by the OECD, World Bank, and African Development Bank, in collaboration with South Africa’s National Treasury.
Brief description of the country procurement system
- Hybrid system: Procurement legislation is centrally developed and maintained by National Treasury, but implementation is decentralized to individual procuring institutions.
- Governed by multiple laws, including:
- Public Finance Management Act (PFMA, 1999)
- Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA, 2003)
- Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA, 2000)
- Subject to transformation policies such as Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE).
Recent major reforms or external events impacting procurement:
- Public Procurement Bill (2023) aims to consolidate procurement laws and address inefficiencies.
- State Capture Inquiry (Zondo Commission, 2021) exposed widespread corruption in public procurement.
- Weak public financial management at municipal levels, contributing to unauthorized expenditures.
- E-procurement expansion planned but currently fragmented.
Were there any disruptions?
- Challenges in data collection due to limited transparency in procurement records.
- State capture corruption cases impacted trust in procurement institutions.
Main results and impact
Fragmented and complex legal framework hinders efficiency.
- Recommendations:
- Finalize and implement the new Public Procurement Act.
- Clarify procurement methods and thresholds in a single, coherent legal framework.
- Enhance standardization of procurement procedures and contract conditions.
Insufficient consideration for lifecycle costs and sustainability.
- Recommendations:
- Incorporate total cost of ownership into evaluation criteria.
- Develop a national Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) strategy.
- Weak regulatory enforcement and governance gaps.
- Recommendations:
- Strengthen Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO) and ensure adequate staffing.
- Improve clarity of roles between National Treasury and other regulatory entities.
- Recommendations:
- Limited integration of e-procurement systems.
- Recommendations:
- Develop a comprehensive e-procurement system that covers all procurement stages.
- Integrate e-procurement with public finance systems to ensure transparency.
- Recommendations:
- Lack of market research and inefficient procurement planning.
- Recommendations:
- Conduct systematic market analysis before launching procurement processes.
- Improve procurement planning tools for government entities.
- Recommendations:
- Slow contract execution and late payments to suppliers.
- Recommendations:
- Strengthen contract monitoring mechanisms to prevent delays.
- Enforce strict payment timelines to ensure financial stability for suppliers.
- Recommendations:
- Weak enforcement of anti-corruption measures.
- Recommendations:
- Establish a specialized procurement tribunal for independent review of procurement disputes.
- Strengthen whistleblower protections for reporting corruption.
- Recommendations:
- Limited transparency in procurement data and reporting.
- Recommendations:
- Enforce mandatory publication of procurement plans and awarded contracts.
- Improve civil society engagement in procurement oversight.
- Recommendations: