The Gauteng government claims to have saved R1.2-billion in irregular expenditure through its Open Tender system.
This is according to the province's finance MEC Barbara Creecy‚ who was addressing the media ahead of the budget votes of the provincial treasury and the department of E-Government.
The Open Tender system is‚ according to Creecy‚ a mechanism to restore faith in the procurement process.
"The Open Tender System saved Gauteng R1.2-billion in irregular expenditure in the 2017/18 financial year by detecting non-compliance in 26 tenders that were cancelled before award‚ an indication that this innovation is working to promote clean government and transparency in the public sector‚" Creecy said.
She said since the launch of the system in 2014‚ more than 75 projects with a combined value of R15-billion have been publicly adjudicated. "All tenders that are valued at R2-million or more are adjudicated through the Open Tender system."
"Until those responsible for financial irregularities face consequences for their actions we will never rid the public service of this scourge‚" the MEC said.
Creecy also announced that all service providers in the department of health with accrued invoices of under R10-million have been paid. "This positive development will contribute to improving the cash flow‚ particularly of small businesses‚ enabling them to participate in efforts to grow the economy and create jobs."
On economic transformation‚ Creecy said: "Since 2014‚ more than 10,000 township businesses have been registered on the provincial treasury's central supplier database and a total of R20.5-billion [was] spent on procuring goods and services from these enterprises."
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