ActionSA to lodge complaint with PP over Treasury's 'failure' to blacklist corrupt suppliers

ActionSA said it is preparing to lodge a formal complaint with the Public Protector against the National Treasury for what it has labelled a shocking failure of consequence management in the fight against corruption.

The move follows a Presidency briefing to Parliament.

The party said that of 467 individuals and companies recommended by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to be added to National Treasury’s restricted suppliers register, only one had been listed.

Under the current legislative framework for the blacklisting process, the accounting officer at the purchasing entity is responsible for requesting any restriction on a supplier or on associated individuals. Treasury then records the restriction in its central database.

At the time, National Treasury blamed the discrepancy between SIU recommendations and blacklisted companies on “the inaction of accounting officers, who failed to restrict suppliers when appropriate or who were reluctant to request restrictions unequivocally instead of tentatively recommending them”.

In a parliamentary briefing three years ago, before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), Treasury, the SIU, and MPs agreed there were loopholes in the current system.

ActionSA spokesperson Matthew George said the party would hold the accounting officers at state entities accountable for failing to abide by the Public Finance Management Act, Treasury for poor oversight, and the Presidency for poor coordination of SIU recommendations and follow-through.

"That means the system routinely allows implicated suppliers and officials to escape accountability and continue doing business with the State."

The party said it would continue to pursue parliamentary remedies to compel ministers, accounting officers, and the Presidency to account publicly and to take immediate corrective action.