The National Treasury has issued an instruction note to government departments, municipalities and entities to help speed up the procurement of the goods and/or commodities required to reduce and control the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
The intervention aims to support the declaration of the COVID-19 virus as a national disaster by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 15 March 2020.
In a statement, the department said the instruction note and Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) Circular aim to augment and enhance uniformity across organs of state.
This includes decisions by Accounting Officers and Accounting Authorities in their emergency procurement, in support of effective and efficient service delivery and curb the possible abuse of Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems during the period of managing this national disaster.
“The instruction note and the circular also list prices of goods/commodities in efforts to curb opportunistic use of this disaster to drive profit margins. Both the instruction note and the circular provide annexures outlining the list of available goods/commodities and items not catered for on the Transversal Contracts, but can be procured from the enclosed list of compliant service providers,” reads the statement.
This instruction note and MFMA circular are also aligned to Circular 07 of 2020 issued by the Department of Public Service and Administration giving guidelines for the containment and management of the Coronavirus in the public service.
The instruction note and MFMA circular are restricted to commodities required to limit the spread of the virus, effective on the signed date and will terminate once a pronouncement is made to declare the end of the disaster or once National Treasury retracts the said instruction note.
National Treasury issued this instruction note in terms of section 76(4)(g) of the PFMA to allow for the relaxation, to a certain extent, of supply chain management requirements during times of emergencies to aid whatever situation the country might be facing.
President Ramaphosa’s declaration of a state of disaster following the rapid spread of the Coronavirus necessitated the increased procurement of health-related gear and collateral.