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REGULARS : QUALITY INSIGHT
National Framework for Sustainable Development ( NFSD ). The NFSD further identifies the means for effective sustainable development implementation with regards to finance , technology , capacity building and trade .
At a provincial level , as an example , the Gauteng province developed the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development ( GDID ) Green Programme which acknowledges that achieving a green Gauteng is a major challenge , as well as a key opportunity . It is a challenge as it requires a fundamental shift from historical ways of organising and managing society and the economy . Accelerating climate change and resource constraints are identified as key drivers for change . In addition , major market and job creation opportunities can be realised from building a green economy .
On the infrastructure project procurement front , government has implemented the revised preferential procurement regulations as per the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act ( PPPFA ). These procurement regulations are intended to give increased state support to small , medium and micro businesses ( SMMEs ). The regulations stipulate that 30 % of appropriate categories of state procurement must be set aside for SMMEs and co-operatives , as well as township and rural enterprises .
The revised regulations will also allow government departments and their entities to introduce pre-qualification criteria in their tenders to advance historically disadvantaged groups by limiting competition to being only among themselves . This should bring significant changes to the law regulating tender processes and give organs of state a powerful tool to drive their transformation agendas forward through their procurement spend .
Measuring sustainability
Being in a position to know how sustainable South Africa ’ s human activities , economic performance and environmental management practices are is a key step towards identifying and addressing aspects that reduce overall sustainability . Sustainability reporting is therefore featuring increasingly on the public and private sectors ’ agenda . Public department reports tend to take the format of Environmental Outlook Reports , while public reports have adopted the Global Reporting Initiative , G4 , standard . These reports point out reasons for good or bad sustainability performance , as well as key aspects of society that can be targeted to redress shortcomings .
It is evident that South Africa has done well in defining sustainability and sustainable development . The adoption of the NFSD and other regulatory instruments commits the country to a long-term programme of resource and impact decoupling . There is however still significant work to be done to reverse the many prevalent social negative trends including high unemployment levels , advancing local black businesses and addressing gender inequalities .
As the CEO of UNISAM , a 100 % blackowned business , the above social impacts relating to infrastructure and built environment projects impact me on a dayto-day basis . On the upside , I am increasingly seeing that public sector clients are requesting sustainability inputs and greener alternatives as part of their project tender requirements . This implies that that sustainable development imperatives are featuring high on the client agenda .
On the down side , we are still not seeing the effectiveness of the 30 % set-asides that are allocated to small black businesses . Government departments and private sector leaders need to be held accountable to report on the effectiveness of the implementation of this legislative requirement with agreed action plans to reach the agreed set-aside targets .
In order for small businesses to survive in the current downturn in the economy , government needs to explore and implement sustainability models for attracting small black businesses to participate in large infrastructure projects ,
The National Strategy for Sustainable Development ( NSSD ) identifies five strategic interventions that are required to achieve the nation ’ s vision for sustainable development :
• Enhancing systems for integrated planning and implementation ;
• Sustaining our ecosystems and using natural resources efficiently ;
• Working towards a green economy ;
• Building sustainable communities ; and
• Responding effectively to climate change . including upfront payments as well mentoring and incubation programmes by large business . Business leaders need to critically assess their tender criteria to ensure that the threshold for participation does not limit black business participation , for example , project history to be aligned to small project requirements .
Critical to addressing the bottlenecks for black business participation in infrastructure projects is for government departments to reduce the administrative demands on tenders through reinforcing the requirements of the central supplier database ( CSD ). All tenders should be advertised through CSD , available at no cost to interested companies and available online .
A green future
South Africa has the regulatory and policy interventions in place to promote sustainable outcomes . The infrastructure budget available can drive local economic development and improve job opportunities . For a sustainable future , the country requires inclusive growth in which all 55-million citizens can be beneficiaries .
In the words of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa , a sustainable South Africa can be achieved through the , “ massification of initiatives to promote inclusive growth .” We look forward to effective checks and balances being implemented by government and business leaders , to root out elements of greed and advance sustainable development .
The United Nations Environment Programme ’ s ( UNEP ) 2010 Green Economy Report perfectly puts it forward , ‘ In a green economy , growth in income and employment should be driven by public and private investments that reduce carbon emissions and pollution , enhance energy and resource efficiency , and prevent the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services .’
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