ABSTRACT
Good budget execution passes through good government procurement. The primary objective of government procurement is to acquire goods and services and works in an economical manner, i.e., providing the best value to the government and the people. However, for public administration it remains a very useful separate criterion, as it is the main basis on which to assess the performance of the public procurement function. Public procurement may encourage the growth of local industry, by giving preferences to local suppliers, or restricting purchases from foreign firms. Economical procurement, therefore, depends on a variety of organizational and incentive factors within government, well beyond the control of the individuals in charge of procurement itself. Competition in procurement is defined as equality of opportunity for qualified suppliers to compete for government contracts. Procurement reform in South Africa was an important aspect of dismantling the discriminatory structure of the apartheid regime.
