Sanral, VEA Road Maintenance and Civils hosted information sharing sessions to prepare SMMEs for upcoming tender opportunities.

The first session was held in Bushbuckridge on Wednesday and in Mbombela and Barberton on Thursday.

These sessions address the need to empower local communities and small businesses within local municipalities with jobs, training and skills.s Routine Road Maintenance subcontracting tender opportunities in the local municipality.

They informed local communities, business forums and targeted small, medium and micro enterprises about Sanral’

These opportunities are for the R38 national road, section 5; the R37, section 4; the R40, sections 2, 4 and 5; and the N4, section 7. Additionally they aim to unpack information regarding the contract participation goals, the number of subcontractors needed and the dates on which tenders will be advertised.

Sanral aims to create employment through its projects for targeted labour groups, including black women, youth and people with disabilities.

ALSO IN PHOTOS: Emerging livestock farmers in Bohlabela District attend information day

Tshimangadzo Masindi, a project manager of Sanral Northern Region, said the agency owns a lot of national roads across the country, including Mpumalanga.

All these routes need to be maintained in a 36-month cycle.

“Every 36 months we appoint a new service provider to carry over the maintenance, so within this cycle the main contractor started around February last year. Within our policy as Sanral for our routine maintenance projects, whoever wins the tender needs to subcontract 50% to the local community from the tender amount they have won.”

Last year, they subcontracted about 12 packages for assisting with the maintenance work they were doing.
“Out of the 12, we have about eight that we subcontract on a yearly basis, and we have four that we have subcontracted for the entire 36 months, because it is specialised work. We are back for the yearly basis subcontractors and it is the second cycle.”

ALSO READ: Nkomazi Maskandi artist’s collaboration with Phuzekhemisi and Mbuzeni Mkhize rocks

Masindi said before they advertise for tendering processes, they visit the affected municipalities and inform the public about the opportunities they have.

“After this step, within the next four weeks we will do an advertisement with the available tendering opportunities and what you have to do to qualify. In that advert we will have a date for the briefing meeting, which is compulsory – if people do not attend this, they do not qualify for the tender.”

Masindi said they advertise in local newspapers, within the municipalities, PLC structures and through WhatsApp.