(1) Whether the Government (a) has an up-to-date database of the lowest retail prices for goods and services which are generally procured by all or different spheres of government in the discharge of their functions, (b) undertakes, through the National Treasury, systematic or random audit checks, against the retail price database, to ascertain that goods and services were indeed being procured at the most competitive prices for 100% of the time throughout all spheres of government, (c) in the interest of heightened accountability and optimal transparency regularly publishes details of all tenders approved throughout all spheres of government, on a dedicated internet site, (d) requests any competent authority to check for over-invoicing or fake invoicing and (e) has effective regulation in place to prohibit advanced payment for goods and services to prevent losses that cannot be recouped when the contractor vanishes; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details in each case; Friday, 20 February 2015 [No 2 – 2015] Second Session, Fifth Parliament INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY NO 2 - 2015 71 (2) whether he will make a statement on efforts being undertaken by the National Treasury in particular, and the Government in general, to (a) obtain best value for the country’s strained resources and (b) root out space for fraudulent, futile, and fruitless expenditure?