Decisions around the awarding of contracts to build and maintain parastatal Eskom’s Kusile and Medupi coal-fired power stations were made during a “moment of crisis and urgency” and did not effectively incorporate transformation, Public Enterprises director-general Tshediso Matona asserted at the inaugural Project and Construction Management Professions Conference earlier this month.

This was in response to comments by some delegates that the State did not effectively empower smaller construction and engineering industry role-players in the awarding of infrastructure tenders, thus compromising true transformation and localisation.

Having acknowledged that these were “lost empowerment opportunities”, Matona, however, reiterated that the onus was also on the smaller players in the private sector to engage government on their willingness to participate in large infrastructure tenders.

“We encourage you to engage with the department, knock on doors, test the water and give feedback. It is important that com- panies communicate with government,” he said.

Matona cautioned, however, that it would not be possible to employ smaller companies on all infrastructure contracts, as a result of economies of scale.

He further warned against companies employing consultants to better understand the legislative and regulatory framework around localisation and empowerment.

“Learn to understand it yourself,” he said.

Matona emphasised that the State-owned companies Transnet and Eskom would be used as catalysts for growth and transformation and would, in all future contracts, prioritise transformation objectives.

The parastatals were, he said, following a planned framework that was deliberately designed to go beyond simply managing the balance sheet and had initiated supplier development programmes intended to develop the skills of their suppliers.

“Years of underinvestment in the sector have resulted in significant skills loss. Our objective to redress this is embedded in the operational fabric of our companies,” he said.

The State would leverage the capacity of its companies and operational procurement processes to promote investment in plants, skills and technologies, and had revised its procurement policies and procedures to facilitate this.

In support of this, Matola referenced an announcement by Transnet, in March, that saw the logistics group appointing local black-owned accountancy firm SekelelaXabiso to lead its five-year, R2-billion internal audit contract.

Engineering News reported last month that the tender was split into Option A – which awarded 60% of the work to majority black-owned firms SekelelaXabiso and Nkonki Incorporated – and Option B – which repre- sented a 40% share and was awarded to empowered auditing and accounting firm and ‘big four’ member KPMG.

However, to drive empowerment objec- tives, by the fifth year, SekelelaXabiso’s share would increase from 40% to 45%, while Nkonki’s would peak at 35% from 20%, leaving global counterpart KPMG’s share reduced to 20%.

The parastatal believed this would enable it to achieve a globally competitive status in terms of internal controls, risk management and governance, implement sustainable best practice methodologies in line with international standards and allow local black firms to gain expertise.

“These appointments are an example of Transnet’s commitment to pursuing meaningful empowerment and skills development priorities that target black people and, in particular, black women,” Transnet chair- person Mafika Mkwanazi said at the time.