Minister in the Presidency responsible for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Jeff Radebe, has encouraged service providers who want to do business with government to adhere to all relevant policies.
He made the comments during a community radio phone in programme where he shared the strides that government has made in the payment of suppliers of government services within 30 days.
“Government is keen on helping the small black businesses. All service providers who wish to do business with government need to adhere to all relevant policies,” Minister Radebe said.
He said suppliers should ensure that their invoices are valid and that they are issued with appointment letters, purchase orders and other relevant documents that are issued when a supplier is appointed to provide a service.
The community radio phone in programme hosted by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) connected 65 community radio stations for an hour and thirty minutes.
During the programme the Minister interacted with listeners from various provinces who raised issues related to government support to small business, as well as processes required for conducting business with government.
In 2011, the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) established a special unit that works in a trilateral partnership with National Treasury and the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) to investigate cases where there is late or non-payment of legitimate invoices within 30 days.
The unit also identifies the causes for delays and non-payment in aforementioned cases, facilitate the process for instituting misconduct proceedings to ensure that there are consequences for late and non-payment of legitimate invoices and support intervene in cases of continuous non- compliance.
Payment of service providers or suppliers within 30-days is a key priority monitored by government from as way back as 2009. Since 2011, the current administration has included a requirement for all Directors-General (DGs) to report to the Forum of South African Directors-General (FOSAD) on the timeous payment of suppliers.
Outcome 12 Chapter of the 2014-2019 Medium Term Strategic Framework, (MTSF) which is government’s comprehensive plan for implementing the National Development Plan (NDP), serves as the principal guide to the planning and the allocation of resources across all spheres of government and also reports, amongst others, on the performance of departments in relation to compliance with 30 days payment of invoices.
The Minister is also the Chairperson of the National Planning Commission. – SAnews.gov.za
