Call to exclude brokers from new tenders

Johannesburg - The government should not give tenders to companies using labour brokers in its multi-billion rand infrastructure programme, the SA Communist Party says. 

The New Age online reported that the SACP said in its New Years’ message that South African workers deserved to be given decent jobs. 

SACP spokesperson Malesela Maleka said the infrastructure programme could potentially create hundreds of thousands of jobs and therefore companies using labour should be excluded from the programme. 

President Jacob Zuma announced the R845bn infrastructure development plan in early 2012. 

At the presentation of the 2012 budget in parliament, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said 43 major infrastructure projects had been identified, adding up to R1.3 trillion in expenditure. 

Gordhan said just under R300bn would be invested in the energy sector and R262bn in transport and logistics projects. 

The presidential infrastructure coordinating commission (PICC) had made considerable progress in identifying projects and clarifying long-term investment plans to drive economic change. 

These projects would be funded in various ways and the fiscus would meet the costs of public service facilities such as schools and courtrooms, hospitals and rural roads.