The Department of Defence and Military Veterans Secretary, Sam Gulube says small and medium enteprises interested in bidding for tenders to supply products for United Nations (UN) peace keeping operations will be given the necessary support.
Concerning the UN’s procurement needs and South Africa’s role in addressing them, Gulube says he believes it is high time South African small businesses made their most of the country’s competencies. “SA has a supply ability in all categories, a world class business model, proximity to market and limited language barriers.”
Currently, South African companies supply less than 1% of UN procurement, even though 80% of UN peacekeepers are deployed in Africa. For this reason, Gulube says there is need of building the capacity of SMEs so that they can play a meaningful part in the supply of goods and services. Requirements include both military equipment as well as civilian supplies.
Meanwhile, Armscor, the South African National Defence Force’s acquisition arm, is working to serve as a vendor for SMEs, which would help limit their administrative costs, Gulube reveals.
Furthermore, work is proceeding on a defence industry charter to assist small business in navigating myriad laws and regulations.
