Government ensures that service providers are paid on time

12 November 2012

The Department for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Administration, in collaboration with National Treasury, has set up a system to track compliance by national and provincial departments on the payments of service providers within the stipulated timeframe of 30 working days.

The system is still on a test stage, and Departments have satisfactorily responded to the use of thereof. This system will enable Government to accurately report on the payment of suppliers.

Minister responsible for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency, Collins Chabane, said that “We encourage Departments to adhere to the PFMA and the Treasury Regulation that prescribe that unless determined otherwise in a contract or other agreement, all payments due to creditors must be settled within 30 days from receipt of an invoice”.

Chabane also urged service providers doing business with Government to provide accurate information and all required documents to get their payments processed within the stipulated timeframe. He said that “service providers also need to take into account that Departments will only make payments upon receipt of accurate invoices and any other required documentation and adherence to the terms and conditions of the contract”.

Government takes the work of service providers seriously, and is committed to the empowerment of small and medium enterprises, as they play a significant role in the economic growth of the country. It is for this reason that Cabinet approved that all the Accounting Officer and their Chief Financial Officers should have payment of service providers as a deliverable in their performance agreements from the 2013/14 financial year.