Procurement Client Centre a ‘one-stop-shop’ for suppliers and government
On Thursday, 15 August 2024, Western Cape Minister of Finance, Deidré Baartman, conducted an oversight visit to the Western Cape Government’s (WCG) Procurement Client Centre (PCC) in Century City, Cape Town.
The PCC was established in 2019 by Provincial Treasury and provides support to suppliers, WCG departments and its entities, municipalities, and National Government departments and its entities located in the Western Cape.
“I commend the incredible work that is being done by the team at the PCC. Since its launch, the Centre has become a procurement ‘one-stop-shop’ for suppliers and departments by offering a range of services to improve the ease of doing business with government and ensure that the WCG procures in a manner that is cost-effective and fair,” said Minister Baartman. The services provided by the PCC include:
- Service Desk: query handling, advice and guidance;
- Learning: training, webinars, open days, and web enablement;
- Technology services: e-procurement;
- Complaints handling: mediation; and
- Service management: transparency, booking keeping tool, and reception surveys.
During the 2023/24 financial year, the PCC attended to a total of 14 614 queries. These included 1 019 walk-ins; 136 Western Cape Supplier Evidence Bank (WCSEB) and national database (CSD) queries; 11 110 WCSEB profile maintenance support queries; 2 268 e-Procurement queries; and 10 CSD registration assistance provided.
“I was particularly impressed by the technological innovation at the PCC. The eProcurement Management tool, which manages procurement processes of goods and services within the WCG, is a game changer for procurement in South Africa,” said Minister Baartman.
The tool provides procurement opportunities to a wider spectrum of suppliers; stimulates competition; promotes a more transparent and accountable process; reduces paperwork; ensures easier compliance with legislation; and ensures government departments work with verified suppliers.
“The WCG remains committed to ensuring that our procurement processes work for the benefit of the people of the Western Cape. This is why, Premier Alan Winde and I again wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa last week to raise our concern about the serious potential Constitutional violations posed by the Public Procurement Act. Particularly as they relate to the autonomy of provinces and municipalities on procurement matters. We cannot allow this legislation to undo the great work of the Procurement Client Centre,” said Minister Baartman.
In its current form, the Public Procurement Act, gives national government the power to create a public procurement policy, which includes preferential procurement, on behalf of all organs of state. Additionally, the inclusion of the mandatory sub-contracting and ‘set-aside’ provisions (which deal with the allocation of certain procurement opportunities for exclusive categories) is puzzling given the 2022 Constitutional Court ruling declaring the 2017 Preferential Procurement Regulations invalid, which included the principles of mandatory sub-contracting and ‘set asides’.
The WCG has already proven that ‘set asides’ and mandatory sub-contracting, as envisioned by this Act, is redundant. In the 2023/24 financial year, the WCG exceeded National Treasury’s targets of 30%, in line with RDP Goals, having achieved 59.79% of procurement spend towards Black-owned companies. This does not include the possibility of Black-owned beneficiaries on the CSD platform who have not submitted their documentation in order to claim for their B-BBEE representation.
This target was met without the WCG having to exclude any groups or individual from participating in economic activities.
“This is why it is crucial that the Act be reviewed in consultation with provinces and municipalities to address, not only the constitutionality of this legislation, but also the concerns around its impact on service delivery. When you insert good governance, innovation and transparency into your system, you can achieve both value-for-money as well as your socio-economic goals.” said Minister Baartman.
Should a business require procurement-related assistance or wish to register as a Western Cape supplier, they can:
- Visit our PCC website at: https://www.westerncape.gov.za/provincial-treasury/services/procurement-client-centre;
- Contact our PCC Helpdesk at wcseb@westerncape.gov.za; or
- Visit our PCC at 2nd floor, 4 Waterford Place (SAP Building), Century City, Cape Town.
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