Minister Mokonyane ensures that citizens benefit not only as tap openers but as meaningful contributers to the sector
Minister Nomvula Mokonyane on Wednesday, 11 May 2016, presented to Parliament and the people of South Africa the Budget of the Department of Water and Sanitation for 2016/17. In her speech Minister Mokonyane said “We are committing ourselves to fundamentally transforming the sector and ensuring that our people do not solely benefit as tap openers but play a meaningful role.”
In the year 2015/16 the department spent a total amount of R13.5 billion on the procurement, of which only minimal amount of R2.2 billion was spent on SMMEs. “This must change” Mokonyane exclaimed. “In its annual performance plan, the department has committed to including a 30% set aside for qualifying small enterprises” she added.
For the current procurement process the focus will be on tangible procurement transformation by ensuring that women, youth and persons with disabilities are specifically targeted. Together with the water boards and entities the department will invest in skilling, especially young people so that they play a meaningful role in the building of dams and the delivery of sanitation infrastructure.
“We can no longer have instances where our people are bystanders and cannot access water within their 5 kilometre radius. Nor can they be observers in the design, construction, operation and maintenance that take place in the country” added Mokonyane.
It is for this reason therefore that an enabling environment for job opportunities for the historically excluded and vulnerable groups will be created, and rural development initiatives that support holder farmers will be targeted. Furthermore, the department has committed to supporting small, medium and micro enterprises in the sector.
This will be achieved through multiple strategies that the department has in place to address economic empowerment such as the implementation of a preferred data base for various commodities relating to for example, Professional Service Providers (PSPs) or contractors.
Targeted sub-contracting is another mechanism that will be utilised by encouraging joint ventures to incorporate the utilisation of SMMEs as sub-contractors. Moreover, Mokonyane said the department together with water boards and entities will ensure equitable water allocation and availability for socio-economic development.
The Department of Water and Sanitation continues to put water provision and sanitation services at the centre of the government programmes and in all its efforts will steer South Africa towards radical socio-economic transformation to create jobs, reduce inequality and push back the frontiers of poverty.
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Sputnik Ratau
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