Kenneth Brown. Picture: SUNDAY TIMES
New chief procurement officer Kenneth Brown. Picture: SUNDAY TIMES

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THE government plans to save up to R25bn a year through tighter management of the procurement system, as the new chief procurement officer, Kenneth Brown, makes his presence felt.

Mr Brown said on Wednesday that the office was now "fairly established" and that research had already been done on areas where savings could be achieved and corruption reduced. The government has R500m in procurement firepower over the next three years. To save 5%, it will from April 1 introduce new measures to make the government procurement process more transparent and efficient.

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It has already started renegotiating directly with airlines to get cheaper rates and save on the commissions that go to travel agencies. Costing R9bn-R10bn a year, travel and lodging is the biggest consumer of routine spending. Of that figure, about R1bn went into commissions for travel agents, Mr Brown said.

Initiatives that have already been implemented include a tenders portal, which last year published 2,500 tenders worth R35bn. Because of that initiative alone, the Treasury says transparency has improved and advertising and administrative costs have come down. A national standard for infrastructure has been distributed throughout the government to guide officials. A R30m cap on the building of schools is an example.

Mr Brown said the Treasury had its sights on professional fees, an example being the costs planners and engineers charged with coming up with designs and plans ahead of construction. The government was also looking at negotiating a better deal for car fleets and ways of saving on cellphone and telephone bills.

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It is also looking to abolish the "three quotes" requirement when it buys routine goods and services below the R500,000 threshold. As a result, an automated system will be introduced, allowing the state to solicit up to 100 quotes. This means the government will not need to invite fresh quotes every time it needs a product or service.

Mr Brown said corrupt officials working in cahoots with service providers were "gerrymandering" the three-quotes system to push up prices. All companies planning to do business with the government must from April 1 be registered on the supplier database, which will encourage transparency and achieve efficiencies for both sides.