SANRAL Scraps Procurement Panels Following High Court Ruling

Posted 28 July 2026 Written by Acts Online
Category Public Procurement

Brought to you by SAnews: The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) has resolved to abandon its contractor panel model and revert to open competitive tender processes following decisions by the High Court of South Africa declaring the panel appointments unlawful and unconstitutional.

In terms of recent judgments by the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Pretoria, SANRAL’s decision to award Routine Road Maintenance (RRM) contracts to a panel of 20 companies was declared unconstitutional and set aside following an application brought by BCB Solutions (Pty) Ltd and Botle Ba Afrika Roads (Pty) Ltd. Additionally, a separate panel tender for Category 2 engineering consultants was declared unlawful due to procurement irregularities during the tender adjudication stage.

Following these rulings, SANRAL confirmed that the agency will transition back to open public tender processes under the following conditions and parameters:

  • Existing RRM contractors: Incumbent contractors will remain in place until 30 November 2026 to ensure uninterrupted road maintenance services during the transition period.
  • Status of panel allocations: All panel appointments under the set-aside tenders have fallen away, and no further work may be allocated under the panel system.
  • Category 2 engineering consultants: No service providers currently exist under this panel, requiring fresh open tenders without transitional extensions.
  • Phased tender publication: Replacement tender packs are being released in batches, with initial tenders already advertised in the Western Cape and Northern Cape provinces under an internal proactive assurance process.

SANRAL had previously reduced its pool of approximately 251 RRM contractors to a 20-company panel to streamline Supply Chain Management (SCM) processes. The agency must now ensure all future road infrastructure procurement strictly aligns with constitutional competitive bidding standards.

What this means for you, your business, or your clients

  • For yourself: Legal and compliance practitioners must note the High Court’s strict enforcement of public procurement principles against restrictive tender panels.
  • For your business: Civil engineering and maintenance contractors previously excluded from SANRAL’s 20-company panel now have immediate opportunities to bid as open tender packs are released in batches.
  • For your clients: Contractors currently operating under the transitional RRM panel face an absolute deadline of 30 November 2026 and must re-tender through open competitive processes to secure future SANRAL contracts.

Originally published at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/sanral-scrap-contractor-panels-and-revert-open-tenders

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