New legislation promulgated by finance minister Enoch Godongwana has made it unnecessary for fundamental state-owned entities to rely solely on BEE-compliant companies during procurement procedures. This comes after years of pushback from big business that claimed that the government’s preferential procurement policy hikes the price of products and services, stifling business in the country. The new legislation seeks to repeal specific regulations within the Preferential Procurement Regulations 2017, originally released five years ago. During his latest Medium Term Budget Policy Statement Speech, the finance minister said that the National Treasury is driven to modernise procurement in the country with the long-term goal of simplifying and speeding up processes. The new regulations empower state organs to determine their own preferential procurement policies within the ambit of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act, said Godongwana. According to the new regulations, the law change is expected to come into effect on 16 January 2023. Click here to read full article