Gordhan: Reckless awarding of tenders will impact generations to come

Finance minister Pravin Gordhan on Monday warned public servants not to award tenders to their friends.

Gordhan‚ who was delivering the keynote address at Public Finance Management conference in Johannesburg‚ said reckless awarding of tenders will impact on many generations to come.

“If we don’t do the right things today‚ build the right systems‚ put in the right culture and encourage the right behaviour and do right by the majority of the population in SA‚ then there will be consequences for future generations‚” Gordhan told the audience‚ largely made up of procurement officials from state departments and parastatals.

He said the procurement officials should not lose sight of the short- to medium-term impact of their decisions.

“The choices that we make as professionals and‚ indeed‚ as politicians as well… does influence what happens in the immediate environment…

“If we choose to give contracts to our friends… choose not to monitor and manage those contracts well‚ if we do not ensure that every cent of the trillion rands that is going to be spent by government in the 2016/17 provincial and national budgets — probably another R400-billion‚ as far as local government is concerned — we can legitimately be asked by our people whether are we looking after their money‚” he said.

He said the balance between rogue and good procurement officials will determine the future direction of SA.

Gordhan added that a high standard of principles and ethics should be promoted by public servants.

He said they should also strive to development-oriented and services should be provided fairly‚ equitably and without bias.

“The focus should be the people who live in SA’s borders‚ not select groups who have lobbying powers and influence and the ability to approach you and me and others within our system.

“Public administration must be accountable because we are not a law unto ourselves‚” he said.