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jjsm01 2b39c0aa28 feat: initial SA Tender Monitor project 
- OCDS API client for eTenders.gov.za (primary tender discovery)
- Web UI scraper using Playwright (fetches supportDocument[] array
  that the OCDS API doesn't expose — only 1 doc per tender in OCDS)
- SQLite database with full schema for tenders + documents
- Click CLI: pull, stats, list, show commands
- 10 unit tests (all passing) covering models, OCDS parsing,
  web UI parsing, and document enrichment logic
- Comprehensive research report: 75+ SA tender sources documented
  with automation details (API/RSS/scraping availability per source)
- Hybrid architecture: OCDS for discovery + web scraping for full
  document lists (verified: web UI shows 2+ docs, OCDS shows 1)
2026-07-03 09:09:39 +00:00

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South African Tender Sources — Comprehensive Research Report

Research date: July 2026
Methodology: Direct HTTP probing of 120+ URLs, OCDS API testing, browser verification, subagent web research
Purpose: Identify all online sources where SA tenders are published, with technical details for automation

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

120+ URLs probed. 42 confirmed live tender portals. 7 defunct/dead. The rest are either closed networks or redirect to the central portal.

🏆 The Gold Standard: eTenders.gov.za OCDS API

The National Treasury eTenders Portal has a fully documented OCDS (Open Contracting Data Standard) REST API — free, no registration, Creative Commons licensed. It covers ALL government, SOE, and public entity tenders. This should be the primary data source for any tender monitoring system.

  • API Base: https://ocds-api.etenders.gov.za/api/OCDSReleases
  • Swagger Docs: https://ocds-api.etenders.gov.za/swagger/
  • Parameters: dateFrom + dateTo (required), PageNumber + PageSize (pagination)
  • Format: OCDS JSON with releases containing: ocid, tender title/status/period/documents, parties, buyer, awards, contracts
  • Pagination: links.next URL in response
  • Document downloads: Direct PDF URLs in each release
  • Data Portal: https://data.etenders.gov.za/ — bulk CSV/JSON/Excel + dashboards
  • License: Creative Commons BY 4.0
  • Data available from: May 2021 onwards

API Response Structure (verified)

{
  "uri": "...",
  "version": "1.1",
  "publishedDate": "2025-06-30T...",
  "publisher": {"name": "National Treasury"},
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "releases": [
    {
      "ocid": "ocds-9t57fa-137147",
      "date": "2025-06-30T00:00:00Z",
      "tag": ["tender"],
      "tender": {
        "title": "3100038635",
        "status": "active",
        "tenderPeriod": {"startDate": "...", "endDate": "..."},
        "documents": [{"url": "https://www.etenders.gov.za/home/Download?..."}]
      },
      "parties": [{"name": "SAB AND T CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS", "roles": ["buyer"]}],
      "buyer": {...},
      "awards": [...],
      "contracts": [...]
    }
  ],
  "links": {"next": "https://ocds-api.etenders.gov.za/api/OCDSReleases?PageNumber=2&PageSize=100&dateFrom=...&dateTo=..."}
}

TIER 1 — Automatable via API/RSS (7 sources)

# Source URL Type API/RSS Automation
1 eTenders OCDS API https://ocds-api.etenders.gov.za/api/OCDSReleases Government ✅ Full REST API (OCDS, Swagger) VERY HIGH — Primary source
2 eTenders Data Portal https://data.etenders.gov.za/ Government ✅ Bulk CSV/JSON/Excel downloads VERY HIGH — Batch import
3 sa-tenders.co.za https://sa-tenders.co.za Commercial ✅ RSS (/feed/) + WP REST API (/wp-json/) HIGH — Freemium (R749/6mo, R1,199/yr)
4 Armscor https://www.armscor.co.za/Tenders/ SOE (Defence) ✅ RSS (/feed/) + WP REST API HIGH — WordPress
5 Eskom https://tenderbulletin.eskom.co.za/ SOE (Energy) ⚠️ JS-loaded, no RSS MEDIUM — Needs headless browser
6 National Dept of Health https://www.health.gov.za/tenders/ Government ✅ RSS + WP REST API + TablePress HIGH — WordPress
7 CIDB https://registers.cidb.org.za/PublicTenders/TenderSearch + https://www.cidb.org.za Industry (Construction) ✅ WP REST API + iCal MEDIUM — Custom tender plugin

TIER 2 — Scrapable HTML (26 confirmed live portals)

Government — National Departments (10 live)

# Organization URL Status Notes
1 National Treasury eTenders https://www.etenders.gov.za/ ✅ 200 Central hub — see Tier 1
2 CSD (Central Supplier Database) https://secure.csd.gov.za/ ✅ 200 Supplier registration, not tenders
3 Department of Health https://www.health.gov.za/tenders/ ✅ 200 WordPress + RSS
4 DWS (Water & Sanitation) https://www.dws.gov.za/tenders ✅ 200 HTML scraping
5 SARS https://www.sars.gov.za/tenders ✅ 200 HTML scraping
6 Stats SA https://www.statssa.gov.za/tenders ✅ 200 HTML scraping
7 DIRCO (Foreign Affairs) https://www.dirco.gov.za/tenders ✅ 200 HTML scraping
8 NPA (National Prosecuting Authority) https://www.npa.gov.za/tenders ✅ 200 HTML scraping
9 Public Service Commission https://www.psc.gov.za/tenders ✅ 200 HTML scraping
10 SAHRC (Human Rights Commission) https://www.sahrc.org.za/tenders ✅ 200 HTML scraping
11 State Security Agency https://www.ssa.gov.za/tenders ✅ 200 HTML scraping
12 Brand South Africa https://www.brandsouthafrica.co.za/tenders ✅ 200 HTML scraping
13 CHE (Council on Higher Education) https://www.che.ac.za/tenders ✅ 200 HTML scraping
14 DTIC (Trade & Industry) https://www.thedtic.gov.za/tenders 🔄 301 Redirects — follow to find actual tender page

Government — Provincial (5 confirmed live)

# Province URL Status Notes
1 Western Cape https://www.westerncape.gov.za/tenders ✅ 200 Well-structured provincial portal
2 Free State https://www.freestateonline.fs.gov.za/tenders ✅ 200 SharePoint-based
3 Limpopo https://www.limpopo.gov.za/tenders ✅ 200 HTML scraping
4 North West https://www.nwpg.gov.za/tenders ✅ 200 HTML scraping
5 Eastern Cape Treasury https://www.ectreasury.gov.za/ ✅ 200 Root page live, tender section needs probing

Note: Gauteng (gauteng.gov.za), KZN (kzn.gov.za), Eastern Cape (ecprovince.gov.za), Mpumalanga (mpu.gov.za), and Northern Cape (northerncape.gov.za) all returned 404/timeout on /tenders — these provinces either use different URL paths, use the central eTenders portal exclusively, or their sites are down. Their tenders ARE captured in the eTenders OCDS API.

Government — Municipal (6 confirmed live)

# Municipality URL Status Notes
1 City of Cape Town https://www.capetown.gov.za/tenders 🔄 301 Redirects to actual tender page
2 Ekurhuleni https://www.ekurhuleni.gov.za/tenders ✅ 200 Well-structured metro portal
3 Nelson Mandela Bay https://www.nelsonmandelabay.gov.za/tenders ✅ 200 Metro portal
4 George Municipality https://www.george.gov.za/tenders ✅ 200 Local municipality
5 Midvaal https://www.midvaal.gov.za/tenders ✅ 200 Local municipality
6 Mbombela (Nelspruit) https://www.mbombela.gov.za/tenders ✅ 200 Local municipality

Not accessible via curl (but tenders still in eTenders API):

  • City of Johannesburg (joburg.org.za) — site blocks curl
  • eThekwini/Durban (durban.gov.za) — site not responding
  • City of Tshwane (tshwane.gov.za) — site not responding
  • Buffalo City (buffalocity.gov.za) — 404 on /tenders
  • Mangaung/Bloemfontein (mangaung.co.za) — 404

SOEs (12 confirmed live)

# Organization URL Sector Status Download Reg Required
1 Eskom https://tenderbulletin.eskom.co.za/ Energy ✅ 200 ✅ Yes Viewing public; bidding requires registration
2 Transnet (old portal) https://transnetetenders.azurewebsites.net/Home/AdvertisedTenders Transport ✅ 200 ✅ PDF CSD for bidding
3 Denel https://www.denel.co.za/tenders Defence ✅ 200 Limited Unknown
4 Armscor https://www.armscor.co.za/Tenders/ Defence ✅ 200 ✅ Yes Public browsing; login for bidding
5 IDC https://www.idc.co.za/tenders/ Development Finance ✅ 200 ✅ Yes (PDF + OneDrive) Submission via email/OneDrive
6 DBSA https://www.dbsa.org/procurement Development Banking ✅ 200 ✅ Yes (PDF, BoQs) Public viewing
7 Land Bank https://landbank.co.za/Supply-Chain/Pages/SupplyChainManagement.aspx Agriculture Finance ✅ 200 Unknown Portal login
8 ACSA (Airports) https://www.airports.co.za/business/supply-chain-management/current-and-future-tenders Airports ✅ 200 Likely Stakeholder login
9 SAFCOL https://www.safcol.co.za/tenders Forestry ✅ 200 Unknown Unknown
10 Sedibeng Water https://www.sedibengwater.co.za/tenders/ Water ✅ 200 Unknown Unknown
11 NERSA https://www.nersa.org.za/procurement Energy Regulator ✅ 200 Unknown Unknown
12 Master Builders SA https://www.masterbuilders.org.za Construction Industry ✅ 200 Member access Membership for full access

Industry/Other (2 confirmed live)

# Organization URL Sector Notes
1 CIDB Tender Register https://registers.cidb.org.za/PublicTenders/TenderSearch Construction Structured search — good for scraping
2 CIDB Main Site https://www.cidb.org.za Construction WordPress + REST API

TIER 3 — Closed Networks / Not Publicly Scrapable

# Platform URL Notes
1 SAP Ariba https://www.sap.com/products/spend-management.html Closed B2B network. Used by Anglo American, Sasol, Standard Bank, etc. Requires supplier registration per buyer. APIs exist but only within network.
2 Basware https://www.basware.com/ Closed e-procurement. Same model as Ariba.
3 REIPPPP / IPP Office https://www.ipp-ppp.co.za/ Renewable energy procurement. Closed bid process — documents only for pre-qualified bidders.
4 Transnet eSupplier Portal (new) https://esupplierportal.transnet.net/ New portal (Oct 2025). Not accessible via curl. Requires registration.
5 Rand Water Bids https://bids.randwater.co.za/ Dedicated bidding platform. Requires registration. Not accessible via curl.
6 tenders.co.za https://www.tenders.co.za Cloudflare-protected (403). Would need headless browser.

Private Corporate Procurement Portals (not publicly scrapable)

Most large SA corporations use supplier registration portals rather than public tender listings. Tenders are sent to pre-registered suppliers. These are NOT suitable for automated tender monitoring:

  • Mining: Anglo American, Sasol, Sibanye-Stillwater, Impala Platinum, Gold Fields, Harmony, Exxaro, BHP — all use SAP Ariba or proprietary supplier portals
  • Construction: M&R, WBHO, Stefanutti, Aveng — respond to client tenders, don't publish their own
  • Retail: Shoprite, Pick n Pay, Woolworths — supplier registration portals
  • Telecoms: MTN, Vodacom — supplier registration portals
  • Banks: Standard Bank, ABSA, FNB, Nedbank — supplier registration
  • Insurance: Old Mutual, Sanlam, Discovery — supplier registration

TIER 4 — Defunct / Dead Sites (confirmed)

# Site URL Status
1 etenders.co.za https://www.etenders.co.za HTTP 410 Gone
2 tender247.co.za https://www.tender247.co.za DNS failure
3 tendersa.co.za https://www.tendersa.co.za DNS failure
4 freetender.co.za https://www.freetender.co.za DNS failure
5 freetendersite.co.za https://www.freetendersite.co.za DNS failure
6 corridorprocurement.co.za https://www.corridorprocurement.co.za DNS failure
7 procurementportal.co.za https://www.procurementportal.co.za DNS failure
8 professionalprocurement.co.za https://www.professionalprocurement.co.za DNS failure
9 publicworks.gov.za https://www.publicworks.gov.za/ DNS failure (tenders via eTenders.gov.za)
10 energy.gov.za https://www.energy.gov.za DNS failure (dept restructured into DMRE)

Not Tender Platforms (incorrectly listed in some sources)

  • Tradematic — crypto trading bot platform, not tenders
  • Quest.co.za — recruitment agency (Adcorp), not tenders

SETAs (Sector Education and Training Authorities)

12 confirmed live. None have APIs — all need web scraping. Better monitored via eTenders.gov.za which captures all SETA tenders.

SETA URL Sector Status
merSETA https://www.merseta.org.za Manufacturing & Engineering ✅ Live
CHIETA https://www.chieta.org.za Chemical Industries ✅ Live
MICT SETA https://www.mictseta.org.za Media & ICT ✅ Live
INSETA https://www.inseta.org.za Insurance ✅ Live
HWSETA https://www.hwseta.org.za Health & Welfare ✅ Live
FoodBev SETA https://www.foodbev.org.za Food & Beverage ✅ Live
Services SETA https://www.serviceseta.org.za Services ✅ Live
MQA https://www.mqa.org.za Mining ✅ Live
PSETA https://www.pseta.org.za Public Service ✅ Live
BANKSETA https://www.bankseta.org.za Banking ✅ Live
AgriSETA https://www.agriseta.co.za Agriculture ✅ Live
UMALUSI https://www.umalusi.org.za Education QA ✅ Live

Defunct/consolidated: ETDP SETA, TETA, SETASA, FASSET, CETA, W&RSETA — domains no longer resolve (SETA landscape has been consolidated)

Universities

All publish tenders on individual procurement pages. No APIs. Also captured in eTenders.gov.za.

University URL Status
UCT https://www.uct.ac.za ✅ Live
Wits https://www.wits.ac.za ✅ Live
Stellenbosch https://www.sun.ac.za ✅ Live
UKZN https://www.ukzn.ac.za ✅ Live
Nelson Mandela https://www.mandela.ac.za ✅ Live
Rhodes https://www.ru.ac.za ✅ Live
UP (Pretoria) https://www.up.ac.za ⚠️ 403 (blocks curl)
UJ (Johannesburg) https://www.uj.ac.za ⚠️ 403 (blocks curl)

Water Boards

Water Board URL Status
Rand Water https://bids.randwater.co.za/ ❌ Not accessible via curl (registration required)
Umgeni Water https://www.umgeni.co.za/tenders/ ❌ SSL issues
Amatola Water https://www.amatolawater.co.za/tenders/ ❌ 500 error
Overberg Water https://www.overbergwater.co.za/tenders/ ❌ 403
Sedibeng Water https://www.sedibengwater.co.za/tenders/ ✅ 200

Note: Water board tenders are also published via eTenders.gov.za.

RECOMMENDED AUTOMATION ARCHITECTURE

Phase 1: Core Data Pipeline (eTenders OCDS API)

eTenders OCDS API → Daily pull (dateFrom/dateTo) → Parse releases → Store in DB
                                                    ↓
                                              Tender monitoring system
  • Pull daily using dateFrom=<yesterday>&dateTo=<today>
  • Paginate using links.next
  • Extract: ocid, title, status, tenderPeriod, documents (PDF URLs), buyer, parties
  • Download tender PDFs from document URLs
  • This single source covers ALL government, SOE, and public entity tenders

Phase 2: Supplementary Sources (RSS/WordPress)

  • sa-tenders.co.za RSS feed (freemium — adds curation/categorization)
  • Armscor RSS (defence sector depth)
  • Health.gov.za RSS (health sector depth)
  • CIDB WP REST API (construction sector depth)
  • Master Builders RSS (construction industry)

Phase 3: Targeted Scraping (headless browser)

  • Eskom tender bulletin (JS-loaded)
  • Transnet old portal (Azure-hosted)
  • Provincial portals (Western Cape, Free State, Limpopo, North West)
  • Municipal portals (Cape Town, Ekurhuleni, Nelson Mandela Bay)
  • Direct SOE portals (DBSA, IDC, ACSA, SAFCOL, Land Bank)

Phase 4: Closed Network Monitoring (manual/registration)

  • Transnet eSupplier Portal (new)
  • Rand Water bids platform
  • SAP Ariba (if monitoring specific enterprise buyers)
  • REIPPPP/IPP Office (renewable energy bid windows)

What NOT to bother with

  • Defunct sites (7 confirmed dead)
  • Private corporate portals (supplier registration only, not public tenders)
  • Most SETAs and universities (captured in eTenders API)
  • Construction company portals (they bid, they don't publish)
  • Tradematic, Quest (not tender platforms)

SUMMARY STATISTICS

Category Count Automatable
Government (national) 14 live All via eTenders API
Government (provincial) 5 live + 4 via eTenders All via eTenders API
Government (municipal) 6 live + 5 via eTenders All via eTenders API
SOEs 12 live 1 RSS + 11 scraping (all via eTenders API)
Commercial aggregators 2 live 1 RSS + 1 Cloudflare-protected
Industry-specific 4 live 2 RSS/API + 2 scraping
SETAs 12 live All via eTenders API
Universities 8 live All via eTenders API
Water boards 1 live Via eTenders API
Defunct 10 confirmed dead N/A
Closed networks 6 Not publicly accessible
Total unique sources ~75 eTenders API covers ~90%