Appendix B : Guidelines for Community Engagement

Public engagement and participation is a principle that is accepted by all spheres of government in South Africa. Engagement and participation also helps to build an informed and responsible citizenry with a sense of ownership of government developments and projects. It allows employers to get buy-in and to develop partnerships with stakeholders8,9.

This Appendix presents guidelines for community engagement on Contract Participation Goals (CPGs) which employers may include in the delivery of construction works contracts. The guidelines are restricted to use for where Contract Participation Goals are specified for targeted areas in terms of:

Such community engagement should be undertaken at concept and viability stage, which establishes the detailed brief, scope, scale, form and control budget, and sets out the integrated concept for one or more packages (Stage 4: Concept and Viability:National Treasury Standard for Infrastructure Procurement and Delivery Management (SIPDM)).

B1.        Legislative and Policy Context

The context and purpose of the engagement must be communicated to the community.

The use of preferential and targeted procurement as an instrument to effect socio-economic change is one of the central strategies of government. By using procurement optimally employers can achieve development goals without compromising on effective delivery and maintenance of infrastructure.

The Standard for Infrastructure Procurement and Delivery Management by the National Treasury (effective from 1 July 2016) was issued as an instruction in terms of Section 76(4)(c) of the Public Finance Management Act of 1999 (Act No.1 of 1999).

The SIPDM establishes control frameworks for:

The SIPDM also establishes developmental or secondary procurement policy relating to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE), and where appropriate, work opportunities for target groups and national development goals. The SIPDM furthermore establishes targeted procurement procedures that may be used to promote social and economic objectives, as well as those for specifying minimum local content.

Requirements relating to the preparation of procurement documents, and the solicitation and evaluation of expressions of interest and tenders are linked to the South African National Standard, SANS 10845 Construction Procurement – which the Standard for Contract Participation Goals is aligned to.

The Standard for Contract Participation Goals prescribes maximum contract participation goals, the content of which should be shared with the affected communities.

B2.        Purpose of Community Engagement

The purpose of the community engagement should be to:

B3.        Community Project Committee (CPC)

A Community Project Committee should be established to facilitate and to obtain agreement on the community participation. The following role players should be involved in the Community Project Committee:

B3.        Social Facilitators

Community engagement should make use of trained and experienced social facilitators well experienced social facilitators with experience in community engagement, conducting situational analysis within the targeted community.

Guidelines for the minimum requirements for the appointment of a social facilitator are given below:

B4.        Outcome of Community Engagement

The intended outcome of the community engagement is to obtain a written agreement between the employer and the affected community:

The written agreement must be signed off by the employer and the Community Project Committee, and should be appended to the contract data.