The massive turnout at the South African National Roads Agency Limited’s
(Sanral’s) N2/N3 information corridor roadshow across KwaZulu-Natal this week
saw the roads agency extend an olive branch to local contractors and
communities, as well as controversial business forums that had disrupted major
construction projects, sometimes at gunpoint.
“We are not at war with you. When we go out to people, we get lambasted
but we are prepared to take the blows . . . Sanral does not want to come with a
big brother attitude. We come here in humility because we can learn from you,”
Sanral chairperson Themba Barrange
Mhambi told the large gathering in Durban on Thursday.
He, together with Sanral transformation officer Ismail Essa and Department of
Transport road safety chief director Whitey Maphakela, conceded that 90% of contracts had, until now,
been awarded to big businesses with Grade 9 Construction Industry Development
Board (CIDB) gradings. This left small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs)
to fight over the remainder of the contracts.
They promised that a far larger portion of the combined R30-billion-plus
upgrade of the N2 between the Lovu river, near the old Durban airport to the
south and Mdloti to the north, and the N3 between Durban and Pietermaritzburg,
that would be rolled out over the next five to eight years, would benefit local
communities.
They urged local businesses and communities to be innovative and said
that opportunities transcended just construction and included supplying
materials and services. Examples included road marking, the provision of
security for various contractors’ camp sites, temporary offices and yards, and
the supply of road signage, fencing, precast elements such as kerbing, side
drains and temporary barriers.
An estimated R800-million will be needed for the sophisticated
light-emitting-diode lighting for the N3 stretch and a further R300-million for
the N2.
Portions of concrete bridges and other structures will also be supplied
by smaller, black-owned businesses.
Mhambi encouraged SMMEs to share their challenges but also cautioned
that, when sharing ideas and trying to find a middle ground, people needed to
“criticise one another with decorum”.
Essa explained that tenders would now be reformulated and resized so
that they could be awarded directly to smaller companies with lower CIDB
ratings.
At the same time, Sanral would “stretch the envelope” and even exceed
the stipulated 30% of work that needed to be subcontracted on some tenders, he
added.
Mhambi said that, while removing “the gatekeepers” was essential as the
cake was big enough for all, it was important to strike a balance when
spreading work between large and smaller companies.
“We do not want big companies in the construction industry to collapse
but we also do not want small black-owned companies to stay small. They must
get big. So, let us not kill what we have, but let us nurture small companies,”
he said.
He warned that, following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address on June 20, job
preservation was a priority and the eradication of large construction companies
would cost jobs that the country could not afford to lose. “But, if we do not
support small companies, how do we create new jobs?”
Support for smaller and evolving businesses would come in the form of
incubator and mentoring programmes, training, and MoUs that had been signed
with manufacturers of large plant such as Bell Equipment and Barloworld and
financial institutions such as Ithala Bank.
The latter would enable smaller contractors to hire plant that they
could not afford to buy, as well as access much-needed finance at preferential
rates.
Mhambi said one of the first roadblocks for small businesses was that
many were unable to complete the complex tender documents. Sanral intended
engaging directly with small businesses to enable them to do this.
Despite encouraging business forums and other concerned community
members to engage with Sanral, he also cautioned that Sanral continued to
operate within the framework of legislation, policies, processes and procedures
which were put in place to ensure tenders were awarded to the right people.
“The system is designed to make sure that all are treated equally. That doesn’t mean we will be able to give everyone what they want but it is a system that is designed to spread the cake more evenly than before,” he said. https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/sanral-extends-olive-branch-to-smaller-contractors-communities-2019-06-28
