Macpherson recently ordered the precautionary suspension of a senior construction project management director who is facing fraud charges over a dubious R113 million project to repair 21 schools in Mpumalanga.

"We have adopted a zero-tolerance approach to corruption and ethical misconduct within this department. That position is non-negotiable," the minister said.

While I welcome Macpherson's stance, he warns that South Africa's infrastructure ambitions will remain constrained unless procurement shifts from a compliance-driven back-office function to a strategic enabler of delivery and fiscal discipline.

It is his view that reforming procurement systems is central to unlocking infrastructure performance while protecting the fiscus.

This will be one of the key themes at this year's CIPS Connect & Engage Conference and Awards 2026, taking place at the Four Seasons Hotel, The Westcliff Johannesburg, on 4–5 August.

Vos says there are certainly positive developments, not only in South Africa but across the SADC region, in terms of procurement's tectonic shift from behind-the-scenes player to having a seat at the boardroom table.

South Africa's Public Procurement Bill, for example, has been gazetted and is under review as the government seeks to consolidate fragmented legislation and modernise oversight. Meanwhile, countries like Botswana have updated many procurement laws in recent years.

However, legislation alone will not fix systemic weaknesses. Procurement is one of the most powerful levers a government has to deliver infrastructure efficiently while advancing socio-economic objectives. But this requires professionalisation, transparency and consistent standards across all spheres of government.

The Special Investigating Unit has consistently found that procurement-related cases stem from failures to follow established processes.

Practical, high-impact controls can reduce corruption without slowing execution. These include robust contract management frameworks with milestone tracking and performance monitoring, transparent reporting on deviations and beneficial ownership, and standardised gateway reviews supported by digital audit trails.

What is currently hampering the effective implementation of these controls, is fragmented regulation, inadequate planning, internal weaknesses, and the absence of a fully transparent national e-procurement system.

Transparency gaps, poor contract oversight, delayed payments, limited public data access and weak civil-society participation continue to undermine trust and increase project risk. The result is predictable: projects run over budget, take longer than planned and often deliver diminished impact.

Without real-time visibility and consistent oversight, infrastructure pipelines become vulnerable to inefficiency and irregular expenditure.

Well-designed procurement reform would strengthen fiscal discipline precisely because it reduces waste, duplication and irregular expenditure. Measures such as digitised workflows, transparent publication of procurement data, open contracting standards and improved audit frameworks protect public finances while improving predictability for suppliers, particularly SMEs.

A modernised system also enhances South Africa's ability to collaborate on cross-border infrastructure corridors and utilities, aligning with broader regional integration goals.

With a significant proportion of public infrastructure projects facing delays or abandonment due to poor planning and inadequate scoping, procurement professionals must be embedded much earlier in project design.

Early procurement involvement improves feasibility assessments, costing realism and market-aligned specifications. It also mitigates scope creep and contractor underperformance. This is especially critical at the municipal level, where capacity constraints remain severe and technical expertise is often limited.

For infrastructure projects, digital tools are crucial for enabling real-time visibility across the project lifecycle, strengthening cost and schedule adherence.

However, while countries such as Rwanda, Zambia and Botswana have advanced e-procurement platforms, South Africa is only targeting full implementation of a national e-procurement system by 2027.

Digital systems, including e-tendering, workflow automation and cloud-based document management, need to be implemented as they offer unmatched accountability, speed and auditability. Infrastructure delivery today requires digital oversight. Manual systems simply cannot provide the transparency required for multi-billion-rand portfolios.

Professionalisation remains foundational. Many public entities continue to second unqualified staff into procurement roles, increasing risk and perpetuating poor outcomes.

To counter this, structured skills assessments, ongoing professional development and regular competency audits are essential, particularly in areas such as contract management, market analysis, technical tender oversight and risk management.

When properly structured, procurement embeds developmental objectives at every level through transparent preferential rules, supplier-readiness programmes and phased localisation strategies.

The Connect & Engage conference, which will be free to attend virtually, will include a range of topics to be analysed across a series of plenary sessions and panel discussions. The event annually brings together senior procurement professionals, supply chain leaders, policymakers and industry partners from across the region to engage with one another, become exposed to new ideas and get to know the brands supporting the industry.

Paul Vos, Regional Managing Director of Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) Southern Africa