Sanral, building industry sign agreement to develop contractors

The South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd (Sanral) and the National African Federated Building Industry (Nafbi) last Thursday signed an agreement to develop small contractors.
In a media release by Sanral’s communications agent, Meropa Communications it is stated that the agreement is aimed at providing mentorship, guidance and coaching to emerging contractors to enable them to participate in road construction and maintenance projects.
Nafbi is an autonomous, nonprofit organisation that is responsible for economic access facilitation, capacity building and business linkages with the aim of transforming the construction industry in South Africa, according to the statement.
According to Ismail Essa, Sanral Transformation Manager, the two parties entered into an agreement on matters of mutual interest in order to best serve their strategic, transformation and empowerment interests by exploring options and solutions to maximise the participation of small contractors in Sanral’s projects.
“Sanral is currently reviewing its procurement documents to enable small black-owned contractors to access more work opportunities on Sanral projects. Most of these contractors require assistance and mentorship before, during and post the tendering phase to win the tender and then execute the project successfully while making a reasonable return,” Essa reportedly said.
Essa added that through this initiative, Sanral seeks to breakdown monopolies in the industry and to address societal ills that include unemployment, poverty and inequality.
In July 2018 Sanral signed an agreement with Bell Equipment to allow small businesses access to construction equipment which is one of the major critical factors to successfully deliver on projects. This was followed by another signed agreement with Barloworld Equipment for access to CAT earthmoving machines and CAT power systems in Southern Africa. Sanral also signed an agreement with Wirtgen Group South Africa for access to machinery, according to Meropa.
As part of the agreement, Sanral will conduct information sessions from time to time for capacity building and information sharing and will invite Nafbi to provide mentoring in the areas of technical competence, financial and human resource activities, as well as contractual and legislative matters.
The agreement will be in place for a period of five years with the option to renew if both parties are in agreement.

Story: BARRY VILJOEN
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