SANRAL snub: Civils body questions multi-billion rand tenders

THE South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) is deeply concerned by the recent awarding of tenders by the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) to joint ventures led by foreign companies. Four of the five tenders, that were cancelled in June 2022, were awarded following an evaluation process conducted by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).

Significant concerns raised by SAICE have been detailed in a letter to the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa and are summarised as follows:

1. Were there no South African companies capable of leading and forming part of these joint ventures?
2. What will the impact on the economy and the engineering fraternity be as a result of the appointment of foreign firms leading these joint ventures?
3. What is the potential negative impact on employment, job creation and skills development for South Africans?
4. Will local procurement regulations be complied with in support of local content and the use of locally-sourced materials for these projects?
5. Who will provide oversight from government to ensure compliance with local procurement targets?

President of SAICE, Professor Marianne Vanderschuren, is concerned by the potential impact and cost to the economy and all South Africans. She said: “In light of the fact that this country has significant work to do in enabling economic recovery – the awarding of up to R6.65 billion worth of SANRAL tender funds to foreign contractors is disappointing.

Although South African tenders usually call for the use of local materials, and labour, can we be sure that these requirements will be honoured by foreign companies as experiences throughout the rest of Africa do not suggest this.”

Download the open letter HERE.