Policy Position Paper: Public Procurement of Cloud Services in South Africa

Prepared by Prof Geo Quinot and Mr Joshua Swart, from the African Procurement Law Unit, this policy position paper examines how South Africa’s public procurement framework can better support cloud services and digital public infrastructure. It highlights the mismatch between traditional procurement requirements and the flexible, consumption-based nature of cloud computing, which contributes to implementation delays and fragmented adoption. The paper identifies the Public Procurement Act, 2024, and its implementation regulations as a key opportunity to translate digital policy ambitions into practical procurement rules and institutional arrangements that enable lawful, secure and scalable cloud adoption across government.

The paper was produced as part of the SA-EU Dialogue – a partnership between National Treasury, GTAC, GIZ and the European Union which is focused on strengthening public procurement systems in South Africa.

To learn more about the project click here.