Pretoria - Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) Kenneth Brown, who will leave National Treasury at the end of December 2016, has been described as someone who served the public service with distinction and commitment.
“During his tenure at National Treasury, Mr Brown has served the public service with distinction and commitment. Like a model civil servant who is not motivated by pay alone, in spite of lucrative offers from the private sector, he agreed to delay his departure until some of the reforms he had started had reached a certain level of maturity,” said Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.
In a statement on Tuesday, Treasury announced that it will bid farewell to Brown as he due to vacate his position as the first CPO of the South African government.
The CPO expressed his intentions in June 2016 to leave National Treasury to pursue a lucrative career opportunity in the private sector.
Since he expressed his intention to leave, Treasury persuaded him to stay on so as to solidify the processes and initiatives he led to establish the Office of the Chief Procurement Office (OCPO) following his appointment by Minister Gordhan in 2013.
“His last day is 31 December 2016, which will mark the end of his 19-year tenure at National Treasury and 34 years as a public servant.”
The CPO joined National Treasury on 1 January 1998 as a Deputy Director and quickly rose through the ranks to become the Head of Intergovernmental Relations Division until his appointment as the CPO.
“In just three years, Mr Brown created and strengthened the OCPO, and led a series of key reforms aimed at elevating supply chain management in the public sector to its rightful strategic place. Under his leadership, great strides have been made in ensuring that government continues to get value for money through increased efficiency and reduction in wastage and corruption.
“The OCPO is now fully established with capability in policy and legislative formulation; governance monitoring and compliance; centralised procurement; strategic procurement; and stakeholder management.
“The Office is staffed with diligent and dedicated staff who will continue to strive for public sector SCM excellence,” said Treasury. – SAnews.gov.za
