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The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes a statement by KwaZulu-Natal Finance MEC, Belinda Scott, that she is currently interacting with her Gauteng counterparts in order to study the effects that an open bid adjudication committee is having on their government.

In fact, the practice of open bid adjudication committees is DA policy. Such a practice ensures a transparency and accountability – cornerstones of Constitutional Democracy.

The MEC made the comment during her Fourth Quarter municipal finance close-out report during a sitting of the provincial Legislature late last week.

The DA has been fighting this issue for many years and we welcome the MEC’s commitment, which is a marked change from the previous refusals by the ANC in KZN to even consider further transparency within the province.

The open bid adjudication process is a policy position long adopted by the DA and which has been put to excellent use in the City of Cape Town in its fight against corruption and to ensure that Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) was more effective and more opportunities were created for small and medium enterprises.

The implementation of an open bid adjudication process here in KZN would have a lasting impact. This is particularly true in large municipalities such as eThekwini which are riddled with corruption as outlined in the infamous Manase Report and more recently the City’s Essence Festival.

The province’s smaller municipalities such as Nongoma - also rocked by a R500 million corruption report recently - will also benefit as they often have few systems which are able to have effective control and accountability on the tender system.

If MEC Scott is serious about fighting corruption, and bringing transparency to our tender system, then she will use her clout within the provincial cabinet to ensure that we finally adopt this "common sense" policy proposal.

As the ANC loses legitimacy they will look to the DA for policy direction. Our policies have a proven track record of success where we govern.

Issued by DA