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By Sihle Mavuso 
5h ago
Durban – KZN’s cabinet has raised concerns about the recent Supreme Court of Appeals ruling that struck down the BEE compliance requirement for companies bidding for tenders in public entities.
In a statement issued Thursday, the KZN cabinet led by Prime Minister Sihle Zikalala said there should be a full review of the procurement legislative framework following the ruling.
Cabinet argued that it would make BEE and radical economic transformation irreversible transformative policies of the government.
The ruling comes after business lobby group Afribusiness appealed to the SCA against the North Gauteng High Court ruling that dismissed its attempts to have the 2017 Treasury-promulgated preferential hiring regulations invalid.
The court determined that the discretionary prequalification criterion in the procurement regulations was a departure from section 217 of the Constitution that required state bodies to use a system that is fair, equitable, transparent and competitive and for the procurement of goods and services.
In response to the ruling, the KZN cabinet said it was still analyzing the trial and its overall implications for economic transformation in the country.
However, he said that while he noted that the invalidity is currently suspended for 12 months, he had to register his concern.
“The provincial executive council considers that this decision is equivalent to reversing the transformation process.
“The provincial executive council will involve the national government in this decision. We also encourage the national government to appeal against this ruling.
“It is important that transformative policies are clear and cannot be questioned,” he said in the statement.
The Zikalala-led cabinet also announced that from November 16 this year it would mark the historic day when Indian contract workers in 1860 landed in KwaZulu-Nata, they would join the country to mark the day.
The cabinet said a series of events is in the works.
“The provincial executive council pointed out that the diversity of our province and indeed the country is enriched by the community of people of Indian origin.
“The provincial government therefore invites various organs of civil society to commemorate this important anniversary.
“The provincial executive council salutes and celebrates all the hardworking people who have contributed to the tapestry of our province, including social cohesion, and also for contributing positively to the economy.
“The provincial executive council headed by Prime Minister Sihle Zikalala will participate in a series of activities to mark this historic arrival. This program will provide the opportunity to recognize the contribution of the Indian community in the fields of work, business, science, sports, religion, arts, culture and the achievement and consolidation of our democracy. As part of the Social Cohesion and Moral Regeneration program, we will introduce a number of other programs that will help unite the diverse branches of our nation and foster a united, non-racial and non-sexist, prosperous KwaZulu Natal, ”the cabinet said. said.
Political Bureau
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