Speech by the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Alderman
Patricia de Lille on the occasion of the Proudly South
African Local Procurement Conference on 29 October
2012
The CEO of Proudly South African, Advocate Leslie Sedibe
The CEO of the Cape Chamber of Commerce, Ms Viola Manuel
The Secretary-General of COSATU Western Cape, Mr Tony Ehrenreich
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good afternoon, goeie middag, molweni
Thank you for inviting me to attend the Proudly South African Local
Procurement Conference.
The City of Cape Town is committed to working with all sectors of society
to drive economic development, growth and inclusion.
This administration believes that the only way to significantly reduce
unemployment and to deal decisively with endemic levels of poverty, is to
ensure that we create an enabling environment that allows the private
sector to flourish.
For it is only the private sector that in the long run that has the capacity
to create sustainable jobs.
Conscious of this, we are as a City making strategic investments that will
help grow our local economy and support the job creation role of the
private sector.
Our close to R6 billion capital budget for this financial year, will see us
continue the work we have been doing by the rolling-out of our integrated
transport system, improving the quality of our road network, expanding
our broadband network and ensuring that we maintain our utility system
to the highest possible standard.
These investments are vital to ensuring that we provide security of supply
of water and electricity, that workers are able to access to employment
opportunities safely and reliably and that our poorest and most vulnerable
citizens can be connected on a global scale through modern technology.
We are also simultaneously working closely with the Western Cape
Provincial Government to reduce red tape, to encourage the development
of small and medium businesses which are especially critical to job
creation.
Of course, I know that despite these initiatives no government can deliver
on its own. We believe firmly in the value of partnership. This is what
makes today’s deliberations so significant.
It illustrates what can be achieved when government, civil society and
business work together so that collectively we can meet enormous
challenges head on.
In order to deal with the socio-economic challenges confronting Cape
Town, and South Africa as a whole, all these partners have to do
everything within their respective powers to make economic growth and
job creation a priority.
The City of Cape Town takes this role very seriously.
We are determined to utilise local industry wherever possible in our
procurement processes, especially those industries that are employment
intensive, such as the textile industry.
To this end in the calendar year thus far the city has spent close to R19
million on local procurement for clothing.
We are also very committed to ensuring that historically disadvantaged
individuals are given the opportunities they deserve.
We do so in an open and transparent fashion, without predetermining
outcomes.
This approach has seen Cape Town expand opportunities; reduce costs
and largely minimise corruption in these supply chain processes.
In September this year, the City awarded 69% of our purchase orders to
a value R633 million to vendors with a BBBEE status.
The biggest investment the City is making over the coming years, with
the assistance of national government is in the roll-out of the MyCiTi
Integrated bus rapid transport system.
The City, rather than importing completed buses from beyond our shores,
has deliberately ensured that they are constructed locally.
A local company has won a R660 million tender to provide the first 190
nine-metre buses that are needed for upcoming MyCiTi bus services.
In order to produce these buses, the supplier has established a factory in
Elsies River, employing 120 people.
These are concrete examples of our commitment as a city-government to
choosing local content wherever it is possible.
This choice is however not always an easy one to make.
We must balance the need for preferencing local procurement, with
keeping our cost base as low as possible, so that we maximise service
delivery within the constraints of our available resources.
Therein lies what I hope will be a key part of your deliberations.
As part of your deliberations, I hope you will focus on how we help to
make local industries more price competitive, by for example reducing red
tape at national level, streamlining the SABS approval process and
making labour legislation more flexible?
The local procurement accord seems to offer a reasonable basis on which
to pursue these issues.
To this end I undertake to put this accord before council, who can
consider its possible adoption.
Thank you.