Re-categorising public procurement in South Africa: construction works as a special case

Abstract

Public procurement is generally known to be the acquisition of goods and services by the government from the private sector. Construction works are considered to constitute services and as such are not specifically referred to in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Re-categorising public procurement may hold many advantages for the regulation of construction procurement law as a unique form of public procurement in South Africa. The definition of construction works is thus important when establishing what is procured in construction procurement. This definition in turn may indicate that the procurement of construction works is indeed a unique form of procurement and should accordingly be re-categorised in South African public procurement law.