Chairperson, noticeable and positive changes have taken place in the sustainability and empowerment of previously disadvantaged contractors. Although trends have varied across various classes of work of the Construction Industry Development Board, CIDB, as well as contractor grades and ownership categories, the profile of black ownership of contractors has shown absolute growth between 2006 and 2009.
These are the details with regard to this growth: 11% in the CIDB grade 7 in general building. This has gone up from 2006, when 53% of black ownership in grade 7 in general building was recorded, to 65% currently. There were 20 black-owned contracting grade 7 enterprises in 2006, and there are 102 black-owned grade 7 contracting enterprises currently. There were 275 black-owned grade 4 contracting enterprises in 2006, and the number has risen to 597 black-owned grade 4 contracting enterprises currently.
Similar trends have also taken place in other CIDB classes of work, such as civil engineering, women ownership, youth and the disabled. Much of this growth can be attributed to government interventions, as well as interventions by the CIDB. These include, among other things, government's enhanced focus on infrastructure spending; government's targeted procurement policies, including the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act, PPPFA; the CIDB's support to government interventions; the strengthening of public sector infrastructure delivery capacity supported by the Infrastructure Delivery Improvement Programme, IDIP; targeting of contractors, made possible through the CIDB's register of contractors; procurement reform led by the CIDB and their procurement guidelines and practices; and encouraging contractor development of previously disadvantaged contractors through the construction contact centres, or triple Cs, established by the CIDB and Public Works.
Memoranda of understanding have been signed with financial institutions including First National Bank, Absa and Standard Bank - that is, three out of the four big banks. Specific interventions in the national emerging contractor development programme to support emerging contractors have been launched, using successful projects with eThekwini Metro, the South African National Roads Agency Limited, Sanral, and others. Thank you.