IF you want to do business with the City, you should know how the City does business.
That was the message to prospective tender contractors at a forum arranged by the new uMhlathuze Electrical Project Management (EPM) section, held at the Richards Bay civic centre on Monday morning.
Leading the well-attended workshop, EPM manager Thandanani Vundla said service providers must be aware of the City’s expectations when they bid for tenders, to ensure efficiency in project execution and that they are quoting adequately to cover all aspects of project execution.
In this first of what will become a quarterly workshop and information sharing session, Vundla warned of a number of changes in the way business will be done, including:
*Tender specifications in future will insist that contractors carry public liability insurance;
*A register of contract defaulters will be drawn up, so that those who have failed to deliver or have performed sub-standard work would be disqualified from future tenders;
*Consultants will henceforth not be paid before the contractor is paid, on whose behalf they are managing a project.
Vundla emphasised the adherence to project management principles, ensuring that projects commence on time, clear communication among all role players, ensuring that emerging contractors are well looked after, and that the product or service rendered is of a good quality.
City of uMhlathuze Health and Safety Manager, Fundi Zungu spoke on compliance to regulations, including transportation policies that did not allow for workers to sit on the back of bakkies among petrol canisters and tools.
Calling for compliance with the new Contracts Act, Zungu also stressed the need to submit a complete safety file with all required documents.
Regarding supply chain management and finance, City procurement official Zama Mzulwini assisted contractors on how to register on Council’s database, how to form a joint venture and procedures to be followed in processing invoices.
