Question NW3193 to the Minister of Finance
24 November 2017 - NW3193
Shivambu, Mr F to ask the Minister of Finance
Whether a tender was advertised when a certain person (name furnished) was commissioned to undertake research that resulted in the production of the research report titled The Ownership of JSE Listed Companies; if so, (a) on what date was the tender advertised, (b) what is the total number of bidders who responded to the advertisement, (c) who was the (i) second best bidder, (ii) third best bidder and (iii) what was the price of each specified bidder, (d) on what date was the specified person appointed, (e) for how long was the research commissioned and (f) what is the total amount paid for the tender; (2) Whether the National Treasury has the capacity to conduct research on the ownership of the overall economy, including listed, unlisted and informal entities; if not, why not; if so, why was the research put to tender?
Reply:
1. No tender was advertised, therefore, parts (a) to (f) of the question are not applicable. Ms Thomas was contracted under the single source rules in terms of Supply Chain Management guidelines[1].
2. The National Treasury only has the capacity to undertake some aspects of such study but often for once-off projects that are not planned for, such research would take officials away from other critical work. Furthermore, it was also important to secure the services of an independent expert rather than rely on the JSE or other active stakeholders more directly involved in the ownership debate. This paper is merely the start of a research process on this matter and the National Treasury is in the process of inviting local researchers to peer review the work of Ms Thomas, as well as similar papers available on the nature of ownership of listed companies in South Africa, so as to provide a credible basis for supporting the transformation debate in South Africa.
Supply Chain Management: A guide to Accounting Officers, 2011 ↑