South Africa’s National Treasury issues new public procurement regulations that tighten requirements and increase the complexity of the procurement process. Reporting across outlets characterizes the changes as more stringent, with additional administrative steps and compliance expectations for public entities. Critics cited in the coverage argue that rather than reducing corruption risk, the new rules could create additional opportunities for graft because of the expanded scope for decision-making and procedural discretion. The reporting also suggests the regulations may increase costs for government departments and suppliers due to higher compliance burdens. Both sources describe the Treasury’s approach as continuing to emphasize “transformation” objectives within procurement, rather than scaling them back. While the outlets focus on potential drawbacks, the shared theme is that the rules are intended to reshape how procurement is conducted by introducing new requirements, particularly around policy goals linked to transformation. Overall, the coverage highlights that the regulations are designed to change procurement practice, but concerns remain about implementation costs and whether the design will effectively deter corruption.