The ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) is calling for a radical review of state procurement.
The powerful lobby believes that the tender system disadvantages the poor, most of whom are women.
ANCWL secretary-general Nokuthula Nqaba announced the call during an interview on Sunday World Engage this week.
Pretending all is well will not help
Nqaba said the league could not fold its arms and pretend that all is well within state procurement when the facts are there for all to see.
But unlike the EFF, which wants the tender system abolished, the ANCWL says only problematic elements must be revisited.
Among other issues, the ANCWL believes that certain public services are too basic to be put out to tender. It believes this creates unnecessary bottlenecks that hamper service delivery.
The basics, such as plumbing, grass-cutting and other small functions like changing light bulbs, should be done by state employees.
Women would benefit from the review of the tender system
The move would also help create sustainable jobs, according to the ANCWL, from which many women would benefit.
Only massive projects, such as big construction projects, should be taken to tender, Nqaba said. “We are saying the issue of tendering is important because it has a role to play when it comes to service delivery. The tender system is a problem. You cannot go out to tender for changing light bulbs, fixing toilet sinks and patching potholes. Those are jobs that should be done internally within the state,” said Nqaba.
“What are TVET colleges for if those skills cannot be used within the state? If you do not create opportunities for the products of TVET colleges, what is the point of these colleges? They are now subjecting these people to tenderpreneurs, and sometimes they get exploited, underpaid, and end up unemployed.
“If certain opportunities are kept within the state, then TVET products can be dispatched everywhere to do the work while you are dealing with bigger issues of socioeconomic development, where you require skills above and beyond what TVET colleges provide. We are not saying the tender systems must be scrapped, but
we are saying there are basic services that need to be delivered to our communities that do not require outsourcing.”
State contracts should be reserved for citizens
There was also a need for rules to make it illegal to hire foreign nationals, she said.
“Imagine the employment that would be created by building state capacity. This would help create jobs that are sustainable because a job created out of a tender is not sustainable. These companies fire people willy-nilly when they demand their worth because people from outside South African borders will take the job for close to nothing, and unemployment increases.”
The league is also concerned about the quality of work by some companies.
In its current form, charged Nqaba, the tender system is ripe for exploitation, which cripples the state’s mandate to accelerate service delivery.
It is for this reason that the ANCWL is calling for tighter controls and quality assurance of all companies that service the state.
The now-normal incidents of bridge collapses and roads getting washed away by floods because of poor workmanship should be nipped in the bud, she said.
Better quality assurance
“Why would someone get a tender to build a bridge, and it collapses at the first sight of rain? We are saying when companies are brought on board, they must be quality assured,” said Nqaba.
“Who gets a tender? Are they ready and stable financially and otherwise to perform the task? Or is it someone who will first give out a R5 million kickback before they even start the job?
“So, we need to look into those issues and the credibility of a company, the stability of the company and whether they are able to do quality work. Others are given work to fix 10 stretches of road, and they do three, and seven are not done, but then there is no mechanism or tool for accountability for state resources that have been misused.”
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