South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) is scrapping its panel-based procurement system for selecting contractors and engineering consultants after a court ruling. According to reporting, the agency acknowledges that its prior processes were “indefensible,” and it is moving away from the panel approach for routine road maintenance and related engineering work. Instead of using the pre-selected panel, Sanral will revert to an open tender system. The change applies to the procurement of routine road maintenance contractors as well as engineering consultants. Both sources describe the decision as a response to the court outcome, with Sanral effectively resetting how it awards these contracts. The articles do not indicate that the court ruling concerns the underlying need for maintenance, but rather the legality or acceptability of the procurement method used previously. The agency’s shift to open tenders is presented as a compliance step intended to ensure future contracting follows procurement standards acceptable to the court.