Contract management within the municipal finance function was an area of concern for the North West Provincial Government as this function, if it exists at all, was not well managed within municipalities.

In 2019, North West Department of Finance, Economy & Enterprise Development (FEED) introduced contract management intervention programme to assist municipalities in the North West Province to better manage their contracts and the performance of related projects.As part of the team of Regucom, we were appointed to oversee contract management implementation in one of the 22 municipalities within North West. Performed in three phases over three years (with breaks between 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19), our team carried out extensive analysis of contracts, financial and legal reviews of contracts to identify irregularities and gaps in contractual obligations, training and appropriate skill transfers.

Our work resulted in the institution of controls for effective contract management within the municipality, establishment of a seven-member Contract Management Committee (CMC) to oversee contract management functions, establishment of a Contract Management Unit (CMU) to discharge contract management responsibilities, among others. These were not available at the municipality prior to our engagement.