Infrastructure bottlenecks, the lack of infrastructure delivery and tender irregularities were negatively affecting infrastructure development in the country, the Built Environment Professions (BEP) grouping said in a statement released on Wednesday.

It noted that the biggest barrier to infrastructure delivery was the lack of transparency during procurement processes related to the allocation of professional services and tenders.

While the BEP grouping welcomed government’s most recent revised infrastructure budget, which outlined the 18 strategic integrated projects, it said problems manifested in the form of obscure decision-making processes and the unequal distribution of professional service contracts.

It added that this also increased the potential for corruption in the face of weak accountability mechanisms over the allocation of public funds.

“A mechanism that could curb possible corruption is the institution of greater transparency throughout the entire procurement cycle, with awarded construction contracts openly published,” said the group.

It added that government should establish an evaluation and monitoring unit tasked with ensuring that professionals and departments comply with legislation during the bid stage.

Best practice in the procurement of professional services should be achieved using a mutually agreed selection methodology within the legal procurement framework that did not detract from the economic and skills transformation objectives of government, it said.

The grouping called for a review of the scoring system for procurement and added that the rules dictating the procurement of general goods and services should be amended to include a specific section that dealt with the procurement of professional services.

“It is vital that the government and the BEP grouping work together to create a conducive, sustainable, nonexclusive procurement environment with definitive transformation objectives to ensure efficient project service delivery, as well as the sustainable development and growth of the built environment industry,” said the organisation.

The BEP grouping comprised the Association of Construction Health and Safety Management, the Association of Construction Project Managers, the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors, Consulting Engineers South Africa, the Institute for Landscape Architecture in South Africa, the South African Black Technical and Allied Careers Organisation and the South African Institute of Architects.