With the public sector spending in excess of R500-billion a year on the procurement of goods and services, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene has lauded the improved use of technology to modernise supply chain management, but noted that further reform was needed.

“The reform of supply chain management will remain a central priority to generate short- to medium-term savings but, more importantly, to bring value for money and to combat corruption,” he outlined in his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement before Parliament on Wednesday.

The Minister highlighted that, since the introduction of a central supplier database, which eased the administrative burden for government and business, over 20 000 suppliers had registered, with 9 500 having been verified since September 1.

He urged all suppliers to register before March 31, 2016, as the database provided information on commodity suppliers by locality, down to the municipal ward level.

Further, Nene noted that more enhancements would support small- to medium-sized enterprises in the area of electronic bids, quotations and technologies and would be implemented in 2016/17.

“Tender documents will be made user-friendly and easy to comprehend, while the number of documents needed for a tender will be reduced and customised to reflect the diversity of the procurement process.

“Buying a filing cabinet is different from hiring an adviser or building a school, yet, our present systems do no reflect these differences adequately,” he stated.