OCPOL (the Legislature’s Oversight Committee on the Premier’s Office & the Legislature) will lead a roundtable discussion with business owners with disabilities to get familiar with their challenges when competing for procurement opportunities in the Office of the Premier.
In the past financial years, the office of the Gauteng Premier has reported non-achievement in procurement targets from businesses owned by People with Disabilities. Part of the office’s strategic priorities is to ‘increase economic participation, ownership, access to resources, opportunities and wage equality for Women, Youth and People with Disabilities’.
In its 2021/2022 financial year annual report, the office reported only having spent 0.55% out of the 7% of the Gauteng Provincial Government’s budgeted procurement spend on businesses owned by People with Disabilities. This translated to a total spend R37.9 million, an amount that the office has not achieved again to-date.
As part of reasons for non-achievement, the office reported few Central Supplier Database registered businesses owned by People with Disabilities.
To probe this further, a survey was conducted to gain insights from business owners, who had to share some of the challenges they encounter when bidding for procurement opportunities in the office of the Premier.
Committee Chairperson, Honourable Bonginkosi Dhlamini and Members of the committee will discuss the findings of the survey and solicit further inputs from invited stakeholders.
