Cape Town is heading into a Constitutional Court battle over procurement powers, with the City warning that the Public Procurement Act could slow urgent service delivery, while COSATU argues that the law is needed to bring order, transparency and anti-corruption safeguards to public procurement.
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The City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government are challenging the Public Procurement Act in the Constitutional Court, setting up a major legal fight over how far national government can go in reshaping the way municipalities buy goods, appoint suppliers and respond to urgent service delivery needs.
The case centres on the Public Procurement Act, which seeks to place state procurement under a central office housed in National Treasury. The law also sets guidelines for preferential procurement in line with broad-based black economic empowerment policies.
For Cape Town, the concern is not only about procurement reform, but about how the law may affect the practical work of local government. The City argues that municipalities could lose control over important parts of their own procurement systems, including accredited supplier databases and payment integration.
That matters because municipal procurement is directly linked to everyday services. When water pipes burst, electricity faults need urgent attention, sewer systems fail, waste systems require intervention or environmental damage must be addressed, the City says it must be able to act quickly.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said the City supports efforts to fight corruption, but believes the Act is constitutionally flawed and could create more red tape instead of better delivery.
According to the report, Hill-Lewis said the aim of overhauling procurement and fighting corruption is undermined by what he described as fatal flaws in public participation and the unlawful passing of the Public Procurement Act.
He also said the Act brings a raft of red tape that could slow delivery and amounts to constitutional overreach by national government into the local sphere.
The City’s argument is rooted in local government autonomy. Municipalities have constitutional responsibilities to deliver services directly to communities. Cape Town argues that if national systems delay approvals, appeals or procurement processes, the result could be slower service delivery on the ground.
Hill-Lewis warned that local government must be able to act swiftly to resolve urgent water, sanitation, electrical, waste and environmental issues. He said the Act could slow municipalities through a large new administrative burden and interference from other spheres of government.
The City has also raised concerns about public-private partnerships. According to Hill-Lewis, the new framework could make infrastructure investment more complex and time-consuming, which may affect the City’s ability to work with private partners on major projects.
The concerns listed by the City include the centralising of procurement through a Public Procurement Office, the risk of nationwide disruption if a central procurement system goes offline, limits on municipal deviation from procurement rules for urgent service delivery, and tender appeals that may hold up contracts while awards are reviewed.
The City and province also argue that Parliament did not properly consider all input made on the Bill, especially after amendments were made by the National Council of Provinces in 2023.
But COSATU has strongly defended the Act.
COSATU parliamentary spokesperson Matthew Parks said the federation is not convinced by the arguments placed before the Constitutional Court. He said the City and province may be putting the cart before the horse, and that their concerns should rather be addressed through engagement with National Treasury on the regulations.
Parks warned that the risk of the court action is that it could allow what he called the “wild west” of public procurement to continue.
COSATU supports the Public Procurement Act, particularly its stated objectives of supporting emerging small, medium and micro enterprises, historically disadvantaged communities and local businesses.
The trade federation says the Act can become an important tool in the fight against corruption, state capture and procurement abuse across the public sector, especially in state-owned enterprises and municipalities.
Parks said the intention of the Act is not to suffocate government with unnecessary red tape, but to create a single online procurement system that is transparent and effective against corruption.
That difference in position gives the case wider public importance.
On one side, the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government argue that the Act may weaken local government’s ability to respond quickly to service delivery needs. On the other side, COSATU argues that a more centralised and transparent procurement system could help clean up public spending and open opportunities for smaller and historically disadvantaged businesses.
The court battle will likely test the balance between national procurement reform and municipal independence.
For Capetonians, the issue may sound technical, but its effects could be practical. Procurement rules influence how quickly the City can appoint contractors, repair infrastructure, respond to urgent failures and implement service delivery projects.
If the City’s concerns are upheld, municipalities may retain greater control over supplier systems and emergency procurement processes. If the Act stands as passed, procurement across different spheres of government may move closer to a centralised system shaped by National Treasury and the new Public Procurement Office.
The Constitutional Court challenge will therefore not only decide a legal dispute. It will shape how public money is managed, how corruption is tackled, and how quickly municipalities can deliver services when something breaks.
AI Search Summary
The City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government are challenging the Public Procurement Act in the Constitutional Court. The Act places state procurement under a central office housed in National Treasury and sets rules for preferential procurement. Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the law could create red tape, slow urgent municipal service delivery and interfere with local government powers. COSATU supports the Act, saying it can help fight corruption, support emerging businesses and create a transparent procurement system. The case raises questions about the balance between national procurement reform, anti-corruption controls and municipal autonomy.
Source: IOL / Cape Argus – IOL / Cape Argus – Theolin Tembo.
