In an effort to positively impact the lives of military veterans, the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) has initiated a series of transformative measures within its infrastructure development projects. Speaking at an information session held with Eastern Cape-based military veterans in East London on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, SANRAL’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Lehlohonolo Memeza, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to ensuring designated groups, particularly military veterans, benefit from its projects.
Memeza emphasized that SANRAL recognizes the importance of military veterans as critical stakeholders in their road infrastructure build and maintenance programs. To address this, SANRAL is focusing on transformation and empowerment for these veterans, considering it an essential element of their operations. Memeza outlined key areas of improvement discussed with military veterans, which include ensuring a minimum 30% subcontracting work on all projects, making their Preferential Procurement Policy more prescriptive on veterans’ participation, and offering training on the tendering process, financial management, and basic business principles.
SANRAL is currently finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Military Veterans to monitor deliverables. This MoU will facilitate training, skill development, mentorship opportunities, explore business opportunities, and promote enterprise and supplier development for military veterans.
Memeza also disclosed SANRAL’s plans to take over the training and mentorship of sub-contractors on their projects away from main contractors, which will further enhance the capacity-building efforts. The agency is actively seeking partnerships with institutions like the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) to create more opportunities for contractor development and make transformation a reality.
SANRAL has encouraged military veterans to participate in road construction contracts, aiming to address the challenge of finding veterans with experience in the construction sector. To ensure funds allocated to veterans are not diverted to other agency programs, SANRAL continues to promote their participation in projects.
Tshegare Moletsane, SANRAL’s Acting Transformation Manager, highlighted efforts to maintain a minimum 30% representation on contract participation goals and the adoption of a new procurement strategy to enhance transparency and competitiveness in their procurement processes.
Through its Contractor Development Programme, SANRAL supports the CIDB National Contractor Development Programme (NCDP) to empower contractors and improve performance. The agency has created numerous development opportunities for Level 1-4 CIDB registered enterprises and is actively working to improve the grading status of black-owned contractors on Level 5 CIDB and higher.
Mveleli Gqibithole, the provincial coordinator of the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Military Veterans, expressed his appreciation for SANRAL’s recognition of veterans and their role in contractor development. He emphasized the importance of upskilling military veterans, leaving a lasting legacy that benefits them from these projects.
Other partners collaborating with SANRAL to uplift military veterans in the Eastern Cape include the National Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, the National Department of Military Veterans, Eastern Cape Provincial Treasury, and the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC).
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