ECDC media release

17 February 2010

Emerging contractors programme given industry thumbs up

The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) has given the thumbs up to the Eastern Cape Development Corporation's (ECDC) flagship Integrated Emerging Contractors Development Programme (IECDM) as an industry leader.

After a recent survey of similar emerging contractor programmes in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, the CIDB says the programme "merits inclusion in a study of best practices in contractor development and it is an admired example by both practitioners and policy makers."

The R6 million programme was developed by the ECDC in conjunction with the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in 2004 as a pilot project to build capacity amongst emerging contractors.

"The IECDM is one of few emerging contractor programmes that have clearly defined measurements of growth and monitoring. It has built-in aspects of finance and training," says CIDB enterprise development manager German Mphahlele.

According to ECDC project manager Eugene Mfaka, the programme is a first for South Africa. The programme ensures that contractors build sustainable businesses so that when they receive tenders they produce quality products in the form of housing, roads, clinics and schools.

Mfaka explains that the curriculum includes teaching contractors business management skills, Occupational Health and Safety and effective tendering. It has a rigorous assessment process of each contractor which takes up to six months. Participants in this programme also have access to ECDC finance.

"Qualified and experienced mentors which include quantity surveyors and civil engineers mentor contractors on a full-time basis to ensure that what is learnt in class is applied on site," says Mfaka.

He says contractors who successfully complete the programme see remarkable improvement in their capacity and some have managed to move up three grades on the CIDB register. After they complete the programme they graduate with a certificate in construction management under the National Qualification Framework.

Already the programme has produced a number of successes such as Mandisa Makiwane who was named of the top ten women in the Eastern Cape by ECDC last year. Under the mentorship of Heaton Construction, Makiwane clinched her first big contract when the department of Public Works asked her to do alterations at Masibulele College in Whittlesea for R800 000. This was followed by a R1,7 million contract to fence at Sekunjalo in Mount Coke.

Other success stories include Luzuko Mtwebana owner of Zani Construction in Butterworth.

"I used to operate in a vacuum without taking into consideration any statutory or legal requirements I needed to comply with to run a successful business.

"As a result of the programme, I am better organized, I have knowledge of the regulations I need to comply with and I understand cash flows," says Mtwebana.

For more information contact:

Melanie Mahona

ECDC

Tel. 043 704 5600

Email. mmahona@ecdc.co.za

For ECDC media relations:

Lunga Mtshizana

SMG Africa

Tel. 043 726 8833

Cell. 083 618 7557

Email. lunga@smgafrica.com