{"id":9061,"date":"2025-08-27T12:23:33","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T10:23:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartprocurementworld.staging.celi.co.za\/indaba\/?p=9061"},"modified":"2025-08-29T12:27:27","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T10:27:27","slug":"amid-public-finance-crisis-procurement-professionals-invited-to-learn-from-treasury-leaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartprocurementworld.staging.celi.co.za\/indaba\/amid-public-finance-crisis-procurement-professionals-invited-to-learn-from-treasury-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"AMID PUBLIC FINANCE CRISIS, PROCUREMENT PROFESSIONALS INVITED TO LEARN FROM TREASURY LEADERS"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For procurement professionals across the public sector, it is vital to stay up to date on developments that will directly shape how you plan, buy and manage contracts, whether you work at a government department, municipality, SOE or state hospital, Smart Procurement stresses. At this year\u2019s indaba, senior leaders from National Treasury and Provincial Treasuries will unpack the latest fiscal strategies, challenges and priorities, and what these mean for procurement teams across the country. If you work in or with public procurement, this is a conversation that you cannot afford to miss, says Smart Procurement CEO Debbie Tagg.<\/p>


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\u201cThis session offers rare and direct insights into the transition – driven by the new Public Procurement Act – from legislation to regulation, including how to ensure a coordinated and compliant rollout. It will explore whether our Treasuries are effectively fulfilling their custodian role as well as the practical challenges faced on the ground by public finance teams. Attendees can expect to leave with tools and guidance to strengthen their implementation programmes.<\/p>


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\u201cOne of the biggest questions on the agenda, and which this panel of senior leaders will examine, is how we unite and formalise a high-performance treasury team across all spheres of government.<\/p>


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\u201cPublic finance matters now more than ever,\u201d Tagg asserts. \u201cWith debt nearing 78% of South Africa\u2019s GDP, more of the budget goes to paying interest than funding hospitals, infrastructure, or service delivery. The budget deficit is set to widen further, while public demand for services grows. Revenue targets are under pressure due to weak growth and policy rollbacks like the cancelled VAT increase. These constraints mean one thing: government must get more from every rand it spends. And that starts with procurement, which accounts for nearly 30% of total government expenditure.<\/p>


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\u201cFor too long, procurement has been seen as a compliance box to tick, but today, it must be a strategic lever to drive value for money in a tight fiscal environment; to prevent corruption and leakages in the system; to support local economic development and transformation; and to ensure faster, more efficient delivery of services.<\/p>


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\u201cTo do this, procurement professionals must understand how the public finance system works, and how National and Provincial Treasury priorities are shifting. As budgets tighten and scrutiny rises, the skills, insights and decisions of procurement professionals will increasingly determine whether public money achieves its intended purpose.\u201d<\/p>


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This important session features five panellists: Isac Smith (Deputy Director General: Governance and Asset Management for the Western Cape Provincial Government), Owen Witbooi (Deputy Director General at the Gauteng Provincial Treasury), Walter Molelekwa (Senior Manager Asset Management at the Northern Cape Provincial Treasury), Betty Rakubu (Chief Director at Limpopo Provincial Treasury) and Mzuvikile Mququ, (Director: Supply Chain Management at Eastern Cape Provincial Treasury). It will be moderated by Ronald Mlalazi (Managing Director of Commerce Edge International).<\/p>


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\u201cAll government departments, municipalities and public entities are urged to attend – to hear directly from those shaping the regulatory landscape and leading the charge nationally and across our provinces,\u201d Tagg concludes.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t

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ABOUT SMART PROCUREMENT WORLD<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t
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