CSIR is not a procurement blame – The Mail & Guardian

The CSIR rejects the claim that the CSIR is a “culprit” for using a deviation process to procure certain goods and services.

RIGHT OF REPLY

Paddy Harper wrote an article in the Mail & Guardian titled “Tender crooks let off the hook” (27 September 2024). The article lamented the low rate of reporting of individuals and companies involved in corrupt behavior to the treasury for blacklisting. I agree with Paddy’s concern about the responsibility of public entities to root out corruption by diligently reporting corrupt companies and individuals to the treasury so they can be removed from the public procurement system.

My disagreement and disappointment are in relation to the graphic accompanying the article with the heading “Worst state procurement culprits”. This graphic depicts the top 10 state entities that procured goods and services following a deviation process.

The Council for Industrial and Scientific Research (CSIR) is included as the third entity in this list, having had 331 approved procurement deviations in the 2023-24 financial year.

First, the graphic has no bearing on the article unless Paddy is insinuating that procurement through a deviation is always with companies or individuals who are corrupt and, therefore, should have been blacklisted. This would be a stretch of both imagination and logic. In the case of the CSIR, I can assert that this representation is inaccurate and that you got it wrong.

First of all, the use of the term “culprit” in the graphic’s heading erroneously implies wrongdoing on the part of the CSIR; again, this is incorrect.

In reality, deviations from standard procurement processes, that is, procurement by “other means”, are allowed as defined in the National Treasury Note 3 of 2021-22.

This is a realization that deviations are unavoidable in certain circumstances, which, in fact, saves the state significant amounts of money and time.

Circumstances that may lead to procurement by “other means” include:

l Limited bidding, such as sole source, single source or multiple source; and

l Procurement that occurs in emergencies and urgent cases.

Regarding the CSIR’s case, because of the nature of our work, we use several highly specialized research and development equipment. Maintenance, repair services and spare components for this equipment can only be supplied by the original equipment manufacturer or designated local agent. In such instances and other similar ones, we will initiate a deviation process to procure these goods and services.

As an organization, we have also developed robust policies and procedures to ensure that there is sufficient rigor in the approval of procurement deviations. I have no doubt that our processes work well and that there is no malfeasance in all the 331 procurement deviations in the CSIR.

In fact, over the past 14 years, we have maintained a clean audit outcome from the auditor general, including in 2023-24.

Therefore, I reject the claim that the CSIR is a “culprit” for using a deviation process to procure certain goods and services.

Dr Thulani Dlamini is the chief executive of the CSIR.