Invitation to the launch of A promise without commitment: Overview of state compliance with President’s 40% procurement allocation

On 26 September 2022, the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) will do a media launch of its report titled: A Promise without Commitment: Overview of state Compliance with President’s 40% Procurement Allocation. In a virtual address to mark National Women’s Day in 2020, President Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa announced government’s plans to expand women’s access to economic opportunities by setting aside 40% of public procurement for women-owned businesses.

The pronouncement generated great interest and enthusiasm, particularly within the gender sector. It is against this backdrop that the CGE conducted the research study to assess the extent to which the President’s promise was turned into reality by state government departments at national and provincial levels through necessary preparations, planning, and allocation of resources towards this goal.

The CGE has reviewed the existing procurement expenditure data at national and provincial government for the 2017/2018 to 2020/2021 financial years to assess the level of compliance with the President’s commitment.

Objectives of the Study were:

•             To examine and assess the extent to which national and provincial government departments comply with and implement the President’s stated 40% target for allocating public procurement resources towards supporting women-owned businesses.

•             To assess and determine if national and provincial government departments have set alternative and clearly stated targets for allocating procurement resources to comply with the 40% procurement target for allocating public procurement resources toward women-owned businesses.

Government Departments that were selected for this study:

•             Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

•             Civil Secretariat for Police Services

•             Correctional Services

•             Employment and Labour

•             Government Communication and Information System

•             Home Affairs

•             International Relations and Cooperation

•             Mineral Resources

•             Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation

•             Public Services and Administration

•             Science and Technology

•             South African Police Service

•             Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation

•             Communications and Digital Technologies

•             Traditional Affairs

This launch will therefore communicate the findings and the recommendations of the study.

Source: Government of South Africa