IRR welcomes Madlanga Commission critique of procurement rules, but implementation still a worry

Remarks by former acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, chair of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Alleged Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System, demonstrate strong agreement with the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) on the country’s public procurement rules, mainly that they have been weaponised against South Africans and require major overhaul.

According to reports, this follows damning testimony before the Commission regarding various high-ranking officials in the Tshwane Municipality being linked to attempts to rig tenders to benefit their friends, families and allies. The Commission also learned of all the miscellaneous tenders being issued for services municipalities are capable of providing but are opting to deliver via procurement instead. Public procurement processes are often more amenable to abuse by opportunistic and corrupt officials seeking self-enrichment. 

These revelations appear to be what prompted Deputy Chief Justice Madlanga to condemn procurement rules, saying “Section 217 was included in the Constitution for the benefit of all of us, that is, the South Africans, but what organs of state have done is to turn it on its head and actually use it against us. That’s very unfortunate.”

Says Makone Maja, IRR strategic engagements manager: “The IRR hopes the Madlanga Commission will go further in establishing the role of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) as the glue that binds procurement to wasteful expenditure through BEE premiums, as well as corruption and capture through patrimonialism. This golden thread runs through both the Zondo and the Madlanga commissions, which have effectively investigated the same issue. They both uncovered state capture by private interests who collude with politicians and others in public office to exploit procurement processes in a bid to enrich themselves at the expense of critical state institutions most South Africans depend on for basic services.” 

The IRR has long championed implementing the recommendations of the Zondo Commission to maximise value for money in procurement which it proposes can be achieved through the elimination of BEE premiums. This would have spared the country from further capture and yet another commission. The Zondo recommendations have been codified in draft legislation crafted by the IRR, namely the Value for Money Bill and the Freedom From Poverty Bill, which the IRR has also urged Parliament to consider. 

Together, these bills replace BEE’s cronyism and the narrow enrichment of tenderpreneurs with genuine and inclusive transformation. The former repeals BEE premiums by enforcing value for money in procurement to entrench quality and cost effectiveness in service-provider appointments, while the latter empowers people on a needs basis rather than purely on racial and gender identity.

Maja concludes: “The Madlanga Commission is what happens when parliament sleeps at the wheel and neglects the very duty it took an oath to uphold. The broadcasting of the proceedings of the Ad Hoc Committee investigating Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi’s allegations will have served as a daily reminder to all South Africans of the failure by Parliament to hold the executive accountable for failing to act on the Zondo Commission’s report. As the retired Justices Madlanga and Zondo reach similar conclusions regarding public procurement rules, we must demand that their recommendations regarding procurement and BEE be reflected in all institutions and laws.”

Media contact: Makone Maja, IRR Strategic Engagements Manager Tel: 079 418 6676 Email: makone@irr.org.za

Media enquiries: Michael Morris Tel: 066 302 1968 Email: michael@irr.org.za