Repairing of the storm water pipe - ESKOM

Parliament is escalating efforts to resolve the R110B+ municipal debt crisis to Eskom through a new inter-ministerial committee, citing governance failures and corruption. This signals heightened scrutiny and potential procurement disruptions for municipalities and suppliers in the energy sector.

• Inter-ministerial committee to be formed to address R110B+ municipal debt to Eskom, signaling potential budget constraints for affected municipalities

National Treasury has gazetted or proposed exemptions from the standard Supply Chain Management Framework, allowing certain organs of state to procure outside normal competitive bidding rules. This creates a two-tier procurement system where exempted entities — often SOEs, municipalities in distress, or departments handling emergencies — can use simplified or negotiated procedures. For suppliers, this means tender opportunities may appear without standard advertising, evaluation criteria may differ, and legal recourse for unfair awards is narrower.

• SCM framework exemptions create a parallel procurement track bypassing standard competitive bidding requirements

National Treasury is aligning preferential procurement regulations with the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act's strategic objectives, which will reshape how BBBEE points are awarded across all government tenders. This signals a shift from compliance-box-ticking to measurable transformation outcomes in procurement evaluations.

• Preferential procurement regulations are being aligned with BBBEEA objectives, potentially changing how BBBEE points are calculated and applied in tender evaluations