MEDIA RELEASE
SANRAL takes public consultation on proposed Interim Preferential Procurement Policy to the Eastern Cape
Eastern Cape, 13 November 2023 – The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) continued its series of public consultations on a proposed Interim Preferential Procurement Policy (PPP) in the Eastern Cape on Monday.
The main session for the Eastern Cape was held at the SANRAL regional office in Gqeberha with other participants linking in virtually from a satellite venue at the Mayfair Hotel in Mthatha.
The sessions were attended by business and industry bodies, including the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NAFCOC), South African Women in Construction (SAWIC), African Chamber of Business (ACOB), King Sabata Dalindyebo Business Council, as well as small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and, interested and affected parties.
“Transformation is the core of SANRAL’s operating model. It has become that social compact that binds us with the stakeholders where we operate. It has become a social licence for us to operate,” said the Chief Executive Officer of SANRAL, Reginald Demana.
“The cake is big enough to accommodate all of us. So there really shouldn’t be any fighting. We need to find a balance in how we work. We believe in transforming lives and leaving people better off than we found them,” said Demana.
Demana said the roads agency would soon launch a contractor development programme and a black industrialist scheme. These are aimed at capacitating emerging enterprises to enable accelerated growth and to promote their meaningful participation in the construction sector.
SANRAL’s acting Transformation Manager, Tshegare Moletsane, said the roads agency would in the next financial year implement a training and mentorship incubation programme targeting business graded 5CE to 7CE.
“SANRAL is resolute in its intent to ensure targeted enterprises which include black-owned businesses – particularly those owned by women, youth, military veterans and people with disabilities – become meaningful participants in projects and become black industrialists,” said SANRAL Regional Manager, Mbulelo Peterson.
Demana said the Board’s decision to withdraw SANRAL’s new Preferential Procurement Policy was a difficult but bold one made in the interest of service delivery.
“We want to process the public’s input by end of next week and finalise the interim policy to go out to tender with new contracts by end of November,” he explained.
“We do have differences, but we must have differences that are productive and progressive. I plead with the industry that, in the interest of the country, we must find constructive ways of engaging,” said Demana.
Stakeholders commended SANRAL for its transformation efforts and expressed their full support for the procurement policy.
“We are tired of the 30% subcontracting, we need 50% subcontracting to SMMEs,” said Luvuyo Popo, president of ACOB.
Chairperson of SAWIC in the Eastern Cape, Nomfanelo Bojana, said they were fully behind the procurement policy and would want to see the 30% stake being increased and SANRAL assisting women-owned SMMEs with access to markets.
“SANRAL must train us in ISO standards to enable us to bid alongside the big players. We also need more opportunities for women in construction,” she said.
SANRAL was urged to reserve routine maintenance contracts for emerging contractors as the big companies were already dominating conventional projects. There were proposals to intensify construction training for emerging contractors and to address the prevailing exploitation of emerging contractors by the main contractors on site.
Demana said the Public Procurement Bill before Parliament – the purpose of which is to create a single piece of national legislation that regulates public procurement, including preferential procurement – would impact what SANRAL’s long-term procurement policy would look like.
The proposed Interim Preferential Procurement Policy (PPP) is open for comment until 17 November 2023. The document can be found on SANRAL’s website (www.nra.co.za) and on various social media platforms.
Embedded within the policy document is an email address (commentsppp@nra.co.za) to enable stakeholders to submit their comments.