​The department hosted a workshop on Capacity Building for Cooperatives in School Uniform in Johannesburg. The province wide training seeks to empower cooperatives by guiding them on how to complete tender documents for the procurement of school uniforms.
The Gauteng Department of Social Development annually supply school uniforms to children on child support grant who are starting school and those who come from vulnerable households. During the workshop Cooperatives were also allowed to raise their concerns regarding the process.

The training in Johannesburg was facilitated by an official from the Gauteng Department of Finance, Dumisani Chauke, he explained the requirements for cooperatives that have an interest in the tender. The main requirement emphasised throughout the session was for cooperatives to seek local suppliers for materials and services.

Chauke added that “seeking out imported materials means that a local supplier has missed out on the opportunity to gain an income from a local project, that is why we strongly encourage supporting local businesses”.

He encouraged cooperatives to be honest in their documents about their suppliers, as the portion of the prize awarded can be affected by where they source their materials.

A participant at the workshop Ms Zulu, raised a concern regarding a lack of starting capital faced by cooperatives who were awarded tenders in the past. She said that cooperatives acquired debts when starting their projects as the funding was only released after a certain time. To address this issue, the department proposed to the Department of Treasury, particularly for this project, to release thirty percent of the funding after cooperatives have signed their contracts so that they have starting capital. In addition, the prize amount awarded is based on market related prices of suppliers, so as to not cut into the profits and budgets of cooperatives.

Another concern raised was that some members of cooperatives struggled to fill out forms and required additional assistance. Nokhanya Maseko, from Gauteng Provincial Treasury, informed guests of a unit at the Imbumba House 75 Fox Street building that has one on one sessions on how to fill in these documents. Maseko and Chauke also committed their respective units to provide video presentations on the department’s social media pages, website, and email- upon request.

Chauke further added that these training sessions are for continuous capacity building, and so everyone will be allowed the opportunity to prepare and participate in the tendering process every year. He encouraged cooperatives to prepare themselves adequately before applying for the tender.