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B-BBEE bidders for Prasa - newsroom - 01-08-2013
Pretoria - Transport Minister Dipuo Peters has announced the successful broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) bidders for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s Rolling Stock Fleet Renewal Programme.
The B-BBEE shareholders are Khiphunyawo Rail, which is currently active in the rail sector. Community Rail Services was selected as the new entrant, while in the black investor category, Elgin-Identity Rail Corporation was chosen.
Peters said the creation of job opportunities, production of local content, skills development and community upliftment remained the essential ingredients in the success of any procurement process of the Rolling Stock Fleet Renewal Programme.
“As government, we take it upon ourselves to ensure that partnerships with the private sector and other stakeholders are forged to ensure the fruition of these commitments.
“It is also remains our responsibility that government’s resource injection will yield maximum benefit for the citizens of South Africa,†she said.
The minister said her department, together with National Treasury and the Department of Trade and Industry, will continue to provide the required technical and administrative support to all the preferred bidders and Prasa throughout the project.
She said they would work to ensure that processes unfold smoothly so that there are no delays in the actual implementation phase.
“Let us deliver and not waste time. My department is always willing to iron out any deadlocks that might be encountered along the way.
“We also take it upon ourselves to ensure legislative compliance throughout the programme’s implementation,†she said.
As today marks the beginning Women’s Month, Peters said it was heartening to see that women empowerment was one transformation imperative that was not compromised.
Prasa Group CEO Lucky Montana said the B-BBEE entities will participate in the shareholding of the project company with Prasa and the project company’s employee trust as well as the educational trust, which is for the development of rail sector talent such as engineers, artisans and technologists.
He said Prasa believed the three B-BBEE entities, together with the three trusts, will create broader participation, which is one of the objectives of the agency.
“This procurement process has created an opportunity for entities to participate in the equity of the project company, who but for this process would not have had the opportunity to participate.
“As Prasa, we sought to procure black enterprises currently involved in the rail sector, black enterprises wishing to enter the rail sector and investor black enterprises,†he said.
Bidding Process for B-BBEE
Chairperson of the Prasa Board, Sfiso Buthelezi, said the process to select the preferred bidders was thorough and robust.
Prasa initiated the process for the participation of the B-BBEE entities in October last year and bidders submitted their proposals on December 14, 2012.
The agency received proposals from 60 bidders, with some submitting their proposals as both active black enterprises and investor black enterprises, bringing the total number of proposals to 74.
However, Montana said 38 bidders complied with the mandatory response requirements in the Invitation to Participate (ITP), while 36 did not meet the mandatory requirements in the ITP.
Short-listed bidders were invited to participate in a further process in relation to the procurement to enable Prasa to solicit further information for purposes of further interrogation, consideration and due diligence on some of the key response areas in terms of the ITP.
The B-BBEE bidders will partner with Gibela Rail Transportation to manufacture South Africa’s next generation of modern commuter trains, which will boast the latest available technology in the rail industry.
The Gibela Rail Transportation consortium, which is led by French multi-national company Alstom, was selected as the preferred bidder in December 2012.
Khiphunyawo is a black enterprise currently involved in the rail sector and comprises SA Freight Logistics and Autism South Africa, among others. Community Rail Services comprises a number of people with disabilities, black female youth, Parmtro Investments and Kaelo Investments.
Elgin-Identity Rail Corporation is an investor black enterprise with a trust established to benefit people with disabilities. - SAnews.gov.za