Pretoria - Free State Premier Ace Magashule on Thursday called on Heads of Departments (HODs), Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and Members of Bid Committees to conduct the adjudication of tenders in accordance with the law.
Magashule called on all officials involved with procurement to perform their duties without fear and bias, strictly in terms of the relevant legislation and without interference of any nature whatsoever from any political office bearer, official or any other person.
The premier had found that some officials were using the names of members of the Free State Executive Council to achieve their own ends.
"I shall not hesitate to take such steps, which may be necessary, to ensure that any person who does not comply with this directive, is swiftly brought to book," he said.
He said the Free State Provincial Government would soon finalise a new procurement policy in order to ensure speedy service delivery.
"We need to sharpen the procurement policy for the provincial government to ensure that we respond to the needs of our people. It cannot be business as usual. We cannot do things the old way. We have to do things differently," Magashule said.
He urged HODs and CFOs to ensure that service providers who provide services to government get paid within 30 days.
"Paying within 30 days, however, does not mean that you must wait for 30 days before making payment," he added.
