Monday, 13 April 2015

Government Opens Online Tender Portal

Current and aspiring “tenderpreneurs” can view and apply for government tenders on a newly launched eTender portal, the National Treasury Department announced.

eTender Publication, launched by the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO), aims to consolidating the publication of tenders by government and and simplifying the procurement process for applicants.

Additional information such as closed, cancelled and awarded tenders as well as reports and tender categories will also be published on the site.

“The e-Tender portal is a first step towards implementing government’s eProcurement system as part of the Integrated Financial Management System and will directly contribute to reducing duplication, fragmentation and inefficiency in government tender publications,” the National Treasury said.

The portal’s admin will be managed by the OCPO, while the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) has been put in charge of technical support, maintenance and hosting of the eTender Publication.

According to the National Treasury, the pros of launching the portal “include cost reduction and effort associated with traditional tender publications and an improvement in transparency and accountability with regards to the award of government tenders.”

A central supplier database (CSD) which offers a list of all supplier information for national, provincial and local government and information related to the compliance requirements, has also been launched alongside the eTender Publication.

“The CSD will therefore reduce duplication of effort and cost for both business and government while enabling electronic procurement processes,” said the National Treasury. http://ocpo.treasury.gov.za/Pages/default.aspx