PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AMENDMENT BILL: repeal key B-BBEE legislation? (you've GOT to be kidding!)

will broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) policy crumble under a GNU?

Democratic Alliance (DA) backbencher Mathew Cuthbert intends tabling a Bill in Parliament to tackle ‘race-based preference’ provisions in the yet-to-be-operationalised 2024 Public Procurement Act* (see footnote). He announced this on 17 October 2025 in a gazetted explanatory summary of the proposed new piece of legislation.

The procedurally required pre-tabling summary also called for public comments on a draft Bill apparently only available from the DA on request. Nevertheless, the summary itself points to moves afoot to garner support for two key policy and legislative changes.

To be tabled as a Public Procurement Amendment Bill, this proposed new piece of legislation will seek to abolish:

• ‘set-asides’

• prequalification criteria for preferential procurement

• subcontracting as a condition to bid for a government contract, and

• the designation of sectors for local production and content.

It will also seek to repeal the 2003 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act in its entirety.

As a private member’s Bill, once finalised and tabled the Public Procurement Amendment Bill will be subjected to a desirability vote by the National Assembly committee to which it has been assigned. This procedure is followed whenever a Bill is tabled, regardless of its source. We unpacked the steps generally taken in one of our most recent articles for SA Legal Academy, focusing on private members’ Bills.

To date, not one of the DA’s 44 private members’ Bills has passed the desirability vote – although seven have yet to be subjected to it. And under a government of national unity (GNU), that vote may yield unexpected results. Because if the principles underpinning and proposals made in a DA Bill resonate with sufficient GNU and non-GNU parties represented in the National Assembly committee concerned, the desirability vote may swing in that Bill’s favour.

Once Cuthbert’s Public Procurement Amendment Bill has been finalised and tabled, it will probably be sent to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance. There are varying records of this committee’s composition. However, permanent membership appears to have been allocated in keeping with proportional representation requirements as follows:

• four ANC (GNU)

• two DA (GNU)

• one Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) (GNU)

• two uMkhontoweSizwe (MKP) (non-GNU)

• one Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) (non-GNU), and

• one ActionSA (non-GNU).

Despite being vehemently anti-ANC, the EFF and MK were founded by influential former ANC members. They may even have supporters who have benefited from public procurement and B-BBEE policy and legislation introduced and implemented under the ANC. The same may apply to the IFP – and ActionSA, whose leadership nevertheless does include former DA, anti-B-BBEE members.

So, when the time comes to vote on the desirability of Cuthbert’s Public Procurement Amendment Bill, things could go either way. Of course, it’s not for us to speculate but …

*Once operationalised, the 2024 Public Procurement Act will repeal the 2000 Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act and its 2022 regulations – which, in keeping with a May 2021 Constitutional Court ruling, replaced the 2017 regulations.