Johannesburg - Although there had been an improvement in the number of invoices paid within 30 days to government suppliers, delays in timely payments remained a major problem, Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe said on Tuesday.
“A comparative analysis of national departments between 2013 and 2014 showed that there has been an improvement in the average number of invoices paid within 30 days,” Radebe said at the opening of the Black Management Forum (BMF) conference held in Johannesburg.
“However, delays in payment remain a major challenge, with significant negative impact on small business, and on economic growth and employment creation.”
He said national departments reported 155 572 invoices worth R3.8 billion which were paid after 30 days. However, at the same time, 62 887 invoices older than 30 days and worth R2.1 billion had not been paid.
“Provincial departments, for the same period, revealed a marginal improvement of 5 percent in the average number of invoices paid within 30 days, but a large portion of invoices still remained unpaid beyond the 30-day target.
“Provinces reported 241 332 invoices worth R13.4 billion which were paid after 30 days and 356 079 invoices worth R21.8 billion older than 30 days which were not paid.”
Radebe added that supplier payment was behind the decision by government to establish a special unit within the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation to proactively address the payment of suppliers within 30 days from receipt of an invoice.
Radebe said the unit had become an indicator to monitor government performance.
AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY