According to Mediacy Mudekwa, Head of Content and research at Smart Procurement World, the overall audit outcomes of the 257 municipalities in the country have regressed. This was highlighted in a report by auditor-general Kimi Makwetu, released earlier this year.
Makwetu’s report revealed that the top 10 municipalities are responsible for R13.4-billion in irregular spend and that the main cause of irregular spend is related to non-compliance with supply chain management legislation. A total of R8.322-billion or 30% of spend was incurred through procurement that did not follow a competitive bidding or quotation process.
“We will use Public Sector Supply Chain Summit 2018 to address challenges faced by state owned enterprises (SOEs), municipalities and government departments, in their battle against fruitless, wasteful and irregular expenditure. The conference discussions, held between 17 and 19 September, will centre on what provinces can learn from each other and what recommendations they propose in order to overcome these issues,” says Mudekwa.
In addition to addressing this pressing issue, the conference will also take a close look at emerging best-in-class people development initiatives and analyse key trends that will open up opportunities for the procurement function. Key speakers will include Heads of Departments, Provincial Treasury representatives, as well as local and international private sector procurement specialists and industry body representatives.
“We have lined up speakers who are highly knowledgeable and well respected in their fields of expertise. One such speaker, hailing from the United Kingdom, is Duncan Brock (FCIPS), Group Director, CIPS. Brock is a member of the leadership team of CIPS and ensures that CIPS provides its corporate and public sector customers globally with products and services that help them develop and improve their procurement and supply team’s capability.”
Brock’s talk will focus on the battle between humans and machines within a procurement context. “Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Blockchain are redefining the traditional role of procurement professionals and with organisations requiring increasingly higher standards of corporate governance and social responsibility, it is critical to identify the skill set required of the future procurement professional,” Mudekwa points out.
For more information on the Smart Procurement World Indaba and Enterprise & Supplier Development Expo in Gauteng in mid-September, please visit the website at: http://www.smartprocurementworld.com/home.html
