Construction World November 2024

and training to enable businesses to be ready when projects come. Also, to assist them in having compliance documents valid and ready,” Makwabe noted. Makwabe delved into the tender processes tailored for targeted enterprises, highlighting the essential steps required for tender preparation. He stressed the importance of adhering to these processes to ensure successful participation. The tender evaluation process, as explained by Makwabe, comprises four stages: eligibility assessment, functionality analysis, price and preference consideration as well as a compliance check. He remarked on the critical nature of realistic bidding, cautioning against unviable low bids that could jeopardise profitability and lead to misplaced claims of exploitation by SANRAL. Lusanda Kali, from the Indyebo Fund, provided an overview of the funding tools available for SMMEs. She elaborated on the various short-, medium- and long-term funding options, offering valuable guidance to businesses on how to access and use these financial resources effectively. The session also featured a presentation from the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Assessment Officer, Lusindiso Nocha, who discussed the grading criteria, contractor competence, contractor performance, grading requirements and registration fees. “It’s important to pay your annual registration fees because failure to do so for two years will lead to the deregistration of your company,” noted Nocha. This provided participants with crucial information on maintaining and improving their standing within the industry. “We have now assigned transformation officers across all our

projects in an effort to enhance our monitoring and evaluation and to ensure that our transformation efforts are being implemented thoroughly on the ground. This will help us ensure that the targeted enterprises (TEs) receive supervision and mentorship from the dedicated TE Mentors on site. This will greatly contribute to their development and safeguard them from any threat of exploitation,” added Makwabe. 

29 CONSTRUCTION WORLD NOVEMBER 2024