In a bid to increase participation of companies owned by previously disadvantaged individuals and groups in its procurement, the Eastern Cape Department of Transport is going out to recruit and empower more cooperatives, small and medium companies to register on the newly established centralised provincial suppliers’ database this month.
The department has seen some of these companies falling by the wayside as they fail to comply with its Supply Chain Management requirements, such as having a valid tax clearance certificate, improper invoicing, which delays payments to service providers at times. Transport is one of the leading departments in paying its Service providers within 30 days of submission of invoices of work done. However, current administrative errors from suppliers have a negative impact in this endeavour.
Having identified some of the challenges facing small businesses in the province and the centralisation of suppliers’ database to the Provincial Treasury, the department has approached the South African Revenue Services (SARS), Departmental Fraud Unit, CIDB, ECDC and the Eastern Cape Provincial Treasury to join its Information Sharing Sessions to empower the small businesses on how to benefit from the government procurement systems.
These and many other related issues will come under spotlight during a one day Information Sharing Session (Suppliers’ Day) as small businesses, cooperatives, and government officials will congregate to find a solution to this challenge, and highlight on the performance standards by both SMMEs and the department.
During this session, the department will articulate Supply Chain Management policies and procedures, systems, existing opportunities, expound on the newly Centralised Electronic Supplier Database, the practise notes, the Provincial Price Index, invoicing systems and many other related matters. The Competitions Commission has also been invited to share information of collusion between suppliers as well as compositeness.
We invite all small business, companies interested to do business with the department and cooperatives, including those that have not yet registered on the newly established central provincial Supplier’s Database and the existing companies so that we can engage on how best we can work together to service our people.
Event details are as follows:
Venue: Town Hall (Mount Ayliff in Alfred Nzo District)
Date: 8 July 2011
Time: 09h00
For enquiries please contact:
Tammie Nqashane (Manager: Demand Management Service)
Cell: 0833 869 550
Source: Eastern Cape Department of Transport
