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This week I have tabled questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature to the MEC for Finance Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, regarding blacklisted businesses who have been found guilty of a criminal offence to prevent them from doing business with government.

In a report released by Corruption Watch, it has come to light that there are no business names on the tender defaulter’s registry which is of extreme concern to the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the province.

When businesses are listed on this registry, government is by law prohibited from doing business with them.

This is very worrying to me, given the massive amount of corruption that was seen at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic when it was discovered that the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) tender was not awarded in an open and fair manner.

Our residents of Gauteng deserve to have their money spent in a proper manner that will ensure that only the best service providers are awarded government tenders and that there is value for money.

Furthermore, it is only the City of Cape Town that has listed suppliers on another database called, the Database for Restricted Suppliers. This database prevents companies who have not yet been convicted of an offence to not be able to do business in the public procurement market.

Both databases play an important role in ensuring that only companies who are committed to undergoing a transparent and open tender process are allowed to bid for government tenders. Thus, ensuring that there is proper value for money and that public funds are spent in the best possible way.

It is quite clear that only the DA-led Western Cape is committed to ensuring that businesses who are providing a service to the residents of the province are doing so within the confines of the law.

Through the mechanisms in place at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, I will continue to demand that all businesses who have been found guilty of a criminal offence or tender irregularities are put on the tender defaulter’s registry as a matter of urgency.

It is high time that corruption is rooted out within the ranks of government.

Our taxpayers’ hard-earned money cannot be abused by unscrupulous businesses and politicians who only care about lining their own pockets.

Issued by DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Finance and e-Government, Adriana Randall MPL