Government procurement, preferences and international trading rules : the South African case

Abstract

This paper reviews the South African government procurement regime and asks whether adherence to international trading instruments and rules, and in particular the World Trade Organisation’s Government Procurement Agreement, would, and should, permit the maintenance of national policy criteria in the decision making matrix for procurement, whilst simultaneously enabling it to realise the efficiency gains of trade liberalisation. It also examines the likely impact, if any, that adherence to these rules would have in reducing the procurement system’s vulnerability to corruption.