The Treasury will issue a directive to all government departments and public bodies to pay suppliers on time or be charged with financial misconduct, Malusi Gibaba, the minister of finance, said in his budget speech yesterday.
A crackdown on late payments was just one of several public procurement initiatives announced in the budget – the first under the new president Cyril Ramaphosa – that aim to expand on the existing policy of using public spending to support South Africa’s SMEs and black-owned businesses.
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