CHRISTOPHER MOTABOGI

Suppliers, who will register on the Free State (FS) government’s centralised provincial database, have been requested to provide quality service when dealing on behalf of government.  This plea was made at Trompsburg in the Xhariep district last week where the database was launched. It will see service providers and potential small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) registering on a database thereby eliminating the need to travel to Bloemfontein to physically submit forms. “Today’s launch is not symbolic, but is a vital step to unearth the potential that exists within the district of Xhariep,” says finance MEC, Seiso Mohai.  The MEC says the province is faced with “serious problems” due to the agriculture and mining sectors, which declined much faster than anticipated. “The database offers an opportunity where communities must participate in their own development. We are facilitating the participation of communities in their own areas,” says Mohai.  Senior supply chain manager in the treasury department, Tshepo Mothibe, told attendees that the current database has been in existence since 2007. However, it was worrying that very few suppliers from the Xhariep district, make up the approximately 17 000 suppliers already registered.  “We acknowledge not having registered enough, but commit ourselves to register as many (suppliers) as possible in the district,” says councillor Vuyisile Mona, acting Kopanong municipal mayor.  Mothibe says the idea “is not to play big brother” to municipalities, but rather to establish project teams in all the province’s five municipal districts. These teams would identify issues to be taken into account and local dynamics and the idea is to have the database fully implemented by January 2013.  Meanwhile, MEC Mohai says it is government’s hope that municipalities must be respected for the services they provide.  “We understand the serious problem of unemployment, so we must stimulate job creation through such initiatives. We want to improve financial governance. We want to work together with SMMEs, give them support and then they must develop in terms of the support given to them,” says Mohai.  The MEC added that the much-anticipated FS Growth and Development Strategy, which will guide development in the province, was likely to be adopted in January next year. The strategy charts a 20-year path for the province, which is the second smallest and has been dwindling in terms of its contribution to the country’s national fiscus.