Public sector procurement as a poverty alleviation mechanism at Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development

Abstract

Public sector procurement, the provision to government institutions of goods and services from the private sector, normally takes a chunk of the national budget. In any country, there will always be goods and services that citizens expect from their government. Such goods and services include sanitation and provision of water, electricity provision, education and transport services, medical and health services, infrastructure and protection of human rights. Such goods and services can only be provided if there lis an effective public sector procurement system. An effective public sector procurement system is one which achieves its primary and secondary objectives of good governance and socio-economic, political and environmental objectives. It is one that benefits its citizenry, particularly the poor. In an effort to address the challenges of poverty and unemployment that face South Africa, government saw a need to employ its procurement powers to tackle this ever growing problem. The purpose of the study was thus to establish the extent to which public sector procurement, as applied at Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development benefited the small, medium and micro enterprises particularly those that are owned by the previously marginalised. A hypothesis was thus formulated to achieve the purpose of the study. Academic literature and government procurement documents were reviewed. An empirical survey was conducted using structured questionnaires and face-to face interviews. The findings of the study revealed that generally, public sector procurement does not benefiting the previously marginalised as it was intended to. This conclusion led to the validation of the hypothesis. To conclude the study, a number of recommendations are made to management to help improve the use of public sector procurement to advance the poor people of this country. I