The standard requirement is that requisitions leading to formal tenders must be submitted at least three months prior to the date when the goods/services are required. The requisitions submitted in response to the above minute are already late, as there is insufficient time allowed for all the processes to be followed. However, we will follow all the normal processes required by the Accounting Officers System. Should approval not be granted for the invitation of tenders, you will be advised accordingly. A schedule reflecting which Supply Chain Management official will deal with your requisition is attached and you may monitor progress by contacting the identified official. There are risks attached to your late request and you must note that should the goods/service not be delivered in time for payment within the financial year, it is incumbent upon you to make arrangements with the chief financial officer, via your programme manager, to make funds available for the payment thereof in the 2007/08 financial year.

All items of furniture and equipment exceeding the value of R5 000 are classified as major assets and must be declared in the annual financial statement and entered into the asset register.

Should you not have requested off-the-floor items of furniture or equipment that is readily available at a supplier, please note that the furniture is subject to a manufacturing process and that, at this time of the year, factories are closed. The request will be advertised for offers via Sourcelink. The risk is that the furniture may not be manufactured and delivered on time. Should deliveries not be possible by 31 January 2007, the orders placed with suppliers will be cancelled and you will have to submit new requisitions for the 2007/08 financial year.

Computer equipment, irrespective of its value, must also be declared in the annual financial statement and be entered into the asset register. It is a requirement that all these items should be marked and bar-coded. The stocktaking and marking process has been completed and the requisitions submitted now place an additional burden upon the Directorate: Logistical Services. The Centre for e-Innovation (Ce-I) has advised that the installation of newly acquired computer equipment is scheduled for January 2007. The risk is that equipment may not be delivered in time and it will affect the asset accruals, which is a disclosure note to the annual financial statement. We will order the computer equipment from the contracted suppliers. However, it is incumbent upon you to make appropriate arrangements with the Ce-I for installation and to report the movement of the computer equipment, as is required by Circular 0028/2005 of 23 May 2005.

Where items with a value of not more than R500 were requested and a quotation was attached to the requisition, petty cash will be requested from the Directorate: Accountancy Services. However, you must note that the petty cash float at Accountancy Services is limited to a total amount of R3 000 per month and it will be ascertained which requisitions can be disposed of in this way. The request will be advertised for offers on Sourcelink and the goods or services ordered. Please note that no advertisements will be placed between 15 December and 15 January, as businesses are closed. In the same way, you cannot expect delivery between those dates. Therefore, should delivery not take place by 31 January 2007, the orders will have to be cancelled, as there is pressure on the Directorate: Logistical Services to finalise all payments for goods or services already ordered for delivery in the last quarter of the financial year, while also having to prepare for the audit cycle and annexures and disclosure notes for the annual financial statement. Should the requisitions be cancelled, it is incumbent upon you to submit a new request should you still require the goods or services.

Where stationery obtainable from the Government Printer was requisitioned, there is a risk that it may not be delivered on time for payment within the financial year. The Government Printer has a lead time of three (3) months for the supply of stationery within the RSA. The stationery will be ordered, but you have to make arrangements with the chief financial officer via your programme manager to make funds available to pay for the goods in the 2007/08 financial year should they not be delivered in time for payment in 2006/07.