In line with pledges by Gauteng Premier David Makura to expedite the payment of invoices to provincial services providers, improve procurement transparency and tackle cronyism, the provincial administration on Monday launched an online invoicing service to accelerate the invoice processing period and cut the payment time to providers to 30 days.

Noting that the system had been piloted since November, Gauteng Finance MEC Barbara Creecy told journalists at the launch event in Soweto that the electronic service would cut invoice submission time for larger providers as well as small, medium-sized and microenterprises from 60 days to less than two days, allowing the acceleration of payments to these businesses.

Suppliers could now submit invoices through on online service that could be accessed from any computer with Internet access or at one of the 24 Thusong government service centres across the province, ensuring that those without Internet access were not excluded.

“We have been working for some time to reach the target of paying suppliers within 30 days. A study by the [Provincial] Treasury found that it can take up to 60 days for invoices to reach the relevant department for processing.

“With the new system, suppliers can submit any time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” she told journalists at the Maponya Mall’s Thusong Centre, adding that 357 registered government suppliers were in the process of being uploaded to the system.

“Service providers on the pilot say it removes the need to phone officials as they can, personally and at their convenience, track progress with their invoices. This makes a huge difference to the cash flow of SMMEs,” said Creecy.

The Maponya Mall’s Thusong Centre had, meanwhile, recently migrated to the fibreoptic Gauteng Broadband Network (GBN), which would host a new generation of government e-services.

By the end of the year, all provincial government departments would be migrated to the GBN, the Gauteng Department of Finance revealed.

“The GBN enables a faster and more stable network that will be the backbone for providing new and improved online services for the public.

“Some of these services include e-invoicing and will, at a later stage, allow service providers to register on our supplier database and participate in the tender system without needing to physically lodge documents at our offices,” she commented.

The roll-out of the GBN formed part of the modernisation of the gauteng public procurement system.

The Gauteng Department of Finance last year allocated R250-million for the development of the network, while Creecy was expected to announce the allocation of a further R250-million in this financial year during her Budget Vote speech on Tuesday.