Western Cape Department of Economic Development & Tourism, in collaboration with Eden District Municipality and local municipalities situated in the Eden region, PetroSA as well as Transnet, hosted a Suppliers Open Day on Tuesday, 9 September 2014, at the centrally situated Civic Centre of George.
This inclusive Open Day which formally started at 9:30 with an official welcoming by Eden’s Executive Mayor, Councillor Wessie Van der Westhuizen, afforded the opportunity to suppliers of the Eden region to register on the participating organisations’ databases. Registering at the event will now enable the suppliers to gain business opportunities from these organisations in future.
Mr Richard Dyantyi, Eden’s organiser of the Open Day, during a briefing session prior to the event emphasised: “Less formal presentations will be conducted by the organisations at the event, in our endeavor to preserve much more allocated time to the suppliers, for registration purposes.”
This fundamental exercise, which takes place on an annual basis, is a strategy of the Provincial and Local Government as well as state-owned enterprises, to enhance and speed-up economic growth, specifically in the Eden region.
At the event, Mayor Van der Westhuizen said to the suppliers in attendance: “We can only reach success when we are prepared to work together. It is up to us as municipalities and suppliers of the region to ensure that the economy is growing and hence I invite you, as business owners, to think out of the box. As business owners it is also important to know that your skills and the quality of your services and products will speak for it self.”
During the activities, suppliers had the opportunity to do the following:
- Register on the Western Cape Government-, municipalities-, Transnet- and PetroSA’s Suppliers Databases or update their status;
- Apply for a Tax Clearance certificate or register as a first time tax payer;
- Apply for a BEE Verification Certificate; and
- Register/update their status on all the participating organisations’ Supply Chain databases, etc.
Eden District Muncipality went as far as to also get the South African Police Services (SAPS) on board, to ensure that all necessary documentation of the Suppliers are certified, which made it much more convenient and effortless for these service providers to register.
Eden’s Municipal Manager, Mr Godfrey Louw, would like to extend a word of gratitude to all the organisations, including: Ariba, SARS, the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, Provincial Treasury, Department: Human Settlements, SAPS, Department of Correctional Services, Transnet, PetroSA, the Construction Industry Development Board and the National Home Builders Registration Council, as well as all the municipalities, who participated in the activities of the 2014 Suppliers Open Day for the Eden region.
