Western Cape Government launches Constitutional Court challenge on Public Procurement Act

The Western Cape Government (WCG) has launched an application in the Constitutional Court seeking an order declaring the Public Procurement Act, 2024 unconstitutional and invalid.

The application is based on the grounds that the National Assembly failed to fulfill its constitutional obligations during the legislative process. The WCG contends that the National Assembly did not facilitate reasonable public participation on material amendments to the Public Procurement Bill, as required by Section 59(1)(a) of the Constitution.

“We are asking the court to declare this piece of legislation invalid, as we are of the view that the Public Procurement Act was adopted in a manner that is inconsistent with the Constitution. The lack of adequate public participation is something which National Treasury itself has acknowledged,” said Western Cape Minister of Finance, Deidré Baartman.

The WCG has made several attempts to engage both the President and the National Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, to raise these serious constitutional concerns. As these concerns were repeatedly not addressed, the WCG was left with no choice but to seek legal recourse. 

“We are seeking the Constitutional Court’s intervention to safeguard the Constitutional principles of meaningful public participation and cooperative governance. Further, provinces have their own autonomy and the WCG believes no one should be excluded from participating in our provincial economy,” Minister Baartman concluded.