South Africa enacted changes to its public-finance laws that will reduce the red tape for projects valued at less than R2-billion where the government partners with private businesses.

The amendments to Regulation 16 of the Public Finance Management Act also introduce the concept of unsolicited proposals, where a company can pitch ideas for projects to a state institution instead of first waiting for the government to request bids.

The National Treasury first proposed the amendments in February last year and published the changes in a government notice on February 7. They take effect from June 1.

With finances of the state and government-owned companies “hollowed out”, public-private partnerships “are the best chance we have,” Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busisiwe Mavuso said in August.

Weak economic growth that’s averaged less than 1% annually over the past decade has left the National Treasury with few options to reduce debt repayments that consume more than a fifth of its budget and fund a rising wage bill without cutting spending to government departments.