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Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry this week started its Inquiry into Compliance with the Localisation and Local Public Procurement Policy, with a focus on bus procurement. The inquiry is determining whether government and state-owned entities are complying with local procurement policy, as designated by National Treasury, as well as challenges in the transport sector.

Committee Chairperson Ms Joanmariae Fubbs said this is an on-going process that will also include the procurement of rail rolling stock. The intention of designating products is to grow the demand for local production and to create jobs, and in this way expand local capacity and skills in an inclusive manner.

The committee heard from key metropolitan municipalities that have issued major bus tenders as well as the companies that have been awarded tenders to build buses. One of the key issues that arose from the inquiry was that there is a lack of clarity on the verification of local content of bus manufacturing.

“It has come to the committee’s attention that smaller bus manufacturers may have been excluded in the initial process. The committee is interested in hearing from other local bus or bus-related manufacturers on the extent to which they have or could benefit from local public procurement and the impediments, if any, to playing a role in the value chain in this regard. Such stakeholders can contribute to the localisation drive as envisaged by government,” said Ms Fubbs.

The committee calls for affected local stakeholders in the bus manufacturing industry that would like to form part of the inquiry to contact Mr Andre Hermans, Committee Secretary, via email at ahermans@parliament.gov.za.

Issued by Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, Joanmariae Fubbs