State-owned South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral)
and nongovernmental organisation, the National African Federated Building Industry
(Nafbi), on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at
developing small contractors within the South African construction industry.
Through this agreement, which will be in place for
a period of five years, Sanral and Nafbi seek to break down monopolies in the
industry, while also tackling issues such as unemployment, poverty and
inequality.
The agreement has the option to renew after five
years, if both parties agree.
According to Sanral transformation manager Ismail Essa, the two
parties entered into the agreement on matters of mutual interest to best serve
their strategic, transformation and empowerment interests by exploring options
and solutions to
maximise the participation of small contractors involved in Sanral projects.
With regards to Sanral’s transformation policy,
CEO Skhumbuzo Macozoma said
that, especially with 2018 having seen several construction businesses
being liquidated, new entrants and small contractors need to be mindful of the
challenges in the industry.
He noted that all construction industry
players need to “learn how to work together and pool all resources” to ensure the
industry’s sustainability and success.
The MoU is one of several recently signed by
the roads agency to “level the
playing fields” in the industry.
As part of the agreement, Sanral will host
information sessions intermittently for capacity building and
information sharing. Nafbi will, through these sessions, also provide mentoring
in the areas of technical competence, financial and
human resources activities,
as well as contractual and legislative matters.
The mentorship will be rolled out nationally, Nafbi
president Aubrey Tshalata told
attendees, adding that mentors “will be drawn from years of experience in road construction and main-tenance, [as well as]
technical and financial competence”.
He called the MoU a “gamechanger for the industry”,
adding that the partnership with Sanral was key to not just promoting the
increased implementation of black economic empowerment (BEE), but in preparing
Nafbi members to participate in Sanral projects.
“We want to develop real sustainable contractors who are able to compete and perform,” he said. http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/sanral-nafbi-sign-mou-to-develop-small-contractors-accelerate-bee-implementation-2019-02-14
