How Tenders Actually Get Awarded
Where government tenders are really advertised (free), how the 80/20 and 90/10 point systems actually score bids, what CSD and B-BBEE registration cost (nothing), and how to spot the middlemen and scams feeding on people who were never shown the rules.
Ask around and you will hear the same thing: "Tenders? You must know someone." That belief is the middleman's best product. The truth is that the whole government buying system is written down in law, advertised in public, and free to enter. People sell you access to a door that is already open. Let us walk through it properly.
What it actually is
A is a public invitation from a government department, municipality or state entity to supply goods or services: school meals, security, cleaning, construction, stationery, transport. By law, public money must be spent through open competition, so tenders above certain values must be advertised publicly.
Where tenders are advertised, free:
- The eTenders portal, etenders.gov.za, the national noticeboard for tenders across departments and municipalities.
- The Government Tender Bulletin, published weekly, free to download at gpwonline.co.za.
- Provincial and municipal websites and their physical noticeboards.
The one registration that matters: . The Central Supplier Database at csd.gov.za is the single register of everyone who may do business with the state. Registration is free and done online. You need your ID, your business registration (a sole proprietor with just an ID number can also register), your bank details, and your tax compliance status, which you get free on . Once registered you get an MAAA supplier number that every organ of state can verify.
How bids are actually scored. The Preferential Procurement rules use points:
| Tender value | Price points | Specific goals points |
|---|---|---|
| Up to R50 million | 80 | 20 |
| Above R50 million | 90 | 10 |
The cheapest compliant bid gets full price points, and more expensive bids get fewer. The remaining 20 (or 10) points go to "specific goals" the buyer sets out in the documents, commonly status, local ownership, or ownership by women, youth or people with disabilities. Highest total score should win. Check current thresholds on treasury.gov.za, as the rules are updated from time to time.
, without the mystery. Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment status runs from Level 1 (best) to Level 8. Here is what the consultants selling "B-BBEE certificates" for thousands of rand do not tell you: if your business turns over less than R10 million a year, you are an Exempted Micro Enterprise (EME) and you do not need a paid verification. A sworn affidavit, signed free at any police station or by a Commissioner of Oaths using the official /dtic template, is your certificate. An EME that is 100% black-owned is automatically Level 1. At least 51% black-owned is Level 2. That is the strongest preference-points position in the system, and it costs you an affidavit.
How it is used against you
Middlemen sell you free things. "Tenderpreneur consultants" charge R500 to R5,000 to "register you on ", "get you on the database" or "put you on the tender list". CSD registration is free. eTenders is free. The Tender Bulletin is free. There is no "list" that gets you awarded anything. Worse, some ask for your CSD login, ID, bank details and tax pin. With those, they can bid in your name, redirect payments, or use your Level 1 status as a front (fronting, which is a criminal offence that can also blacklist you).
Fake tenders and the "supplier deposit" scam. You get an email or WhatsApp: "Your company has been shortlisted for a Department tender of R2.4 million. To proceed, pay a refundable admission/facilitation fee of R7,500." No government body ever charges a fee to award a tender. Bid documents sometimes have a small, published, non-refundable document fee paid to the department's own account, and that is the only money that ever changes hands before award.
The fake purchase-order scam. A "procurement officer" sends you an official-looking order: supply 200 laptops urgently, government will pay in 30 days. They direct you to buy stock from a specific "approved supplier" (their accomplice). You pay the accomplice, the goods and the officer evaporate, and the department has never heard of the order. Small suppliers lose their whole capital this way.
Bid-rigging happens, and it feeds on silence. Yes, corruption exists: tenders written so only one connected bidder can qualify, awards leaked in advance, ghost committees. The system's defences (public advertisement, published award results, appeal processes) only work when ordinary bidders use them. When we assume "it is all connections anyway", the corrupt win by default, because honest people stop bidding.
How to use it instead
1. Do the free registrations this week.
- tax compliance status pin: free on .
- CSD registration at csd.gov.za: free.
- B-BBEE sworn affidavit (if under R10 million turnover): free, template on thedtic.gov.za.
- company registration if you want a Pty Ltd: R175 online at cipc.co.za. Not always required, but it helps.
2. Watch eTenders like a job board. Search your trade and your province on etenders.gov.za weekly. Start with small tenders and formal requests for quotation (RFQs), which are smaller purchases (often under R1 million) that departments source from CSD-registered suppliers, sometimes without a full tender. Being on CSD with the right commodity codes is how you get invited to quote.
3. Read the whole bid document, then answer it like an exam. Most new bidders lose on compliance, not price: a missing certified copy, an unsigned SBD form, late submission. Make a checklist from the document. Attend the briefing session if there is one (some are compulsory). Submit a day early.
4. Price from your real costs. Remember: 80 of 100 points are price. Winning a tender at a loss has sunk many first businesses. Cost materials, labour, transport and your time, add a margin, and be willing to lose a bid rather than win a trap.
5. Verify everything independently. Got a purchase order or award letter? Phone the department's supply chain management office using the number on its official website, never the number on the letter. Check that a tender number exists on eTenders. A gmail or webmail address on "government" correspondence is a stop sign.
6. Never hand over your credentials. Not your CSD login, not your eFiling password, not signed blank letterheads. If someone wants to "partner" using your B-BBEE level while doing everything themselves, that is fronting. Walk away and report it.
7. Use the complaint routes when something smells wrong. Award results and reasons can be requested. Complaints go to the department's accounting officer, National Treasury, the Public Protector, or the B-BBEE Commission (for fronting). Paper trails beat rumours.
The tender system has real problems. But its front door is public, written down and free. Do not pay anyone to open it for you.
Where to go
- eTenders portal (all public tenders, free): etenders.gov.za
- Central Supplier Database (free registration): csd.gov.za
- Government Tender Bulletin (free weekly download): gpwonline.co.za
- National Treasury procurement rules and contacts: treasury.gov.za
- B-BBEE Commission (fronting complaints, affidavit info): bbbeecommission.co.za or 013 665 8000
- CIPC (company registration): cipc.co.za
- SARS (tax compliance status): sars.gov.za or 0800 00 7277
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