Public procurement in South Africa

Current law and the 2024 Act

National Treasury said on 13 August 2024 that the provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2024 were not yet in force ². Until they take effect, the framework under the Public Finance Management Act 1999, the Municipal Finance Management Act 2003, the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act 2000 (PPPFA) and other laws stays in place ².

The new law is Act No. 28 of 2024. The President assented on 18 July 2024 and it was published in Government Gazette No. 50967 on 23 July 2024 ¹. The President brings it into operation by proclamation in the Gazette, and section 69 allows different dates for different categories of procuring institutions ². National Treasury said the repeal of the PPPFA and Chapter 4 of the new Act should take effect on the same date ².

What the 2024 Act sets up

• Section 4(1) establishes a Public Procurement Office within National Treasury ¹.
• Section 36(1) establishes a Public Procurement Tribunal to review procurement decisions ¹.
• Section 24(1)(b) leaves the types of procurement methods to be prescribed by the Minister ¹.
• Section 17(1)(a) requires bids to be set aside for listed categories of persons, subject to prescribed thresholds and conditions ¹.
• Section 25(a) lets a procuring institution acquire goods, services, infrastructure or capital assets from another organ of state, as prescribed ¹.
• Section 1 defines a transversal term contract as a contract arranged by the relevant treasury or another procuring institution mandated by legislation ¹.

Draft regulations

National Treasury published the Draft General Public Procurement Regulations 2026 for comment in Government Gazette No. 54528 on 16 April 2026, under section 63(1) of the Act ⁴. The draft covers bid committees, bid validity, bidder vetting, contract management, debarment, ICT systems and transitional measures ⁴.

The first comment period was 60 days ⁴. On 12 June 2026, SAnews reported that the Minister of Finance added 30 days, moving the deadline to 15 July 2026 ³. The report said the regulations are needed to bring the Act into effect and gave no start date ³.

Thresholds for national and provincial bodies

PFMA SCM Instruction No. 02 of 2021/22 sets value bands for national and provincial departments, constitutional institutions and Schedule 3A and 3C public entities ⁵. The Acting Chief Procurement Officer signed it on 8 June 2021 ⁵. Amounts include all applicable taxes ⁵.

Start date of the threshold rules

The two Treasury documents give different start dates. The instruction as signed on 8 June 2021 says it takes effect on 1 July 2021 ⁵. An amendment signed on 29 June 2021 says the instruction takes effect from 1 August 2021 ⁶. Both say the rules are not retrospective, and processes already started finish under the earlier rules ^5,6.

Preference points and tender publication

The Preferential Procurement Regulations 2022 were published in Government Gazette No. 47452 on 4 November 2022 and took effect on 16 January 2023 ⁷. Tenders for goods or services worth up to R50 million use the 80/20 system, with up to 20 points for specific goals ⁷. Tenders above R50 million use the 90/10 system, with up to 10 points for specific goals ⁷. Regulations 6 and 7 apply the same split to income-generating contracts ⁷.

The eTender Publication Portal says it gives access to information on tenders by public sector organisations in all spheres of government ⁸. It lists advertised, awarded, cancelled and closed tenders and procurement plans of organs of state, with separate logins for officials and suppliers ⁸.