National Treasury media statement
Newspaper reports that Mr Kenneth Brown, the Chief Procurement Officer is leaving the National Treasury at the end of June are not true.
The Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO) was established in February 2013, to:
*modernise government procurement
*put systems in place that will help to curb leakage in public expenditure
*ensure that government realises maximum value on the R500 billion spent on goods and services annually.
Under Mr Brown’s leadership, the OCPO has made tremendous progress on these objectives to ensure that South Africa’s procurement system is one that is transparent and enables government to realise value-for-money, in line with section 217 of the Constitution.
Mr Brown has been instrumental in building the capacity of the unit with professional and experienced experts to ensure that the success of the unit is not dependent on one individual.
Indeed, Mr Brown has been approached various times by the private sector but has decided to stay at the Treasury to manage the initiatives the OCPO is involved in. Maintaining stability of the OCPO is paramount as the unit is central to government’s plan of realising efficiencies in spending and curbing corruption.
