DA celebrates Constitutional Court victory declaring government’s new procurement law invalid - EWN

The Democratic Alliance (DA)-led Western Cape government is celebrating a Constitutional Court victory after it declared government’s new procurement law invalid.

On Thursday the court found that Parliament’s public participation processes in 2023, had been deficient, particularly following the introduction of a new chapter which deals with socio-economic transformation in procurement.

The Constitutional Court dealt with two separate applications launched by the province and the second by the City of Cape Town, challenging the validity of the Public Procurement Act which was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa last year.

The amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism which was an applicant in both matters challenging the Act, said that the judgment is an important victory for the integrity of the country’s procurement system.

The court found that introducing a new chapter to the draft bill, was a “material amendment” which required Parliament to subject it to public scrutiny.

It said that it was untenable for Parliament to argue that the content had been covered in public engagement for previous procurement regulations.