Relief for business contractors
Nie Cele
Believe or not, sluggish payment challenges faced by contractors doing business with Gauteng government could be a thing of the past. This follows recent announcement that, At least 10 Gauteng government departments have paid 90 percent of their invoices within 30 days and a further nine departments achieved payment rates of 95% and higher.
This announcement was made by the Governance and Planning cluster before the tabling of their recent budget speeches. When pressed further Gauteng finance MEC, Barbarba Creecy revealed that three departments have put measures in place to pay suppliers within 14 days.
“ The payment of suppliers is also an area in which steady progress is being made. These improvements made in processing payments more speedily are assisting emerging businesses to grow and remain profitable,” Creecy said.
She also declared that in this financial year, the government was going to make sure that 60 percent of new contracts were going to be awarded through the Open Tender process.
During the briefing it was also announced that an Integrity Unit expected to co-ordinate anti-corruption activities across the province has been set up in the Premier’s Office.
The cluster also jointly agreed that, Government has already taken steps to improve the ease of doing business and cutting red tape .
“Progress is being made in reducing time taken by municipalities and provincial government to approve development applications. The waiting time has been reduced from 18-24 months to 90 days and government is committed to reducing this waiting time even further.”
