The municipal body received an Appreciation Award for its procurement training and skills development work in the public sector, in which it was aided by procurement training organisation Commerce Edge’s ‘Competency Dialogue’.

The initiative aims to develop procurement knowledge, in the industry and within eThekwini’s supply chain operations, to an expected level of professional competency.

“We examined individuals’ and group’s procurement competency levels, where they were lacking and where they should be. Commerce Edge’s Competency Development (CECD) tool then enabled us to address any shortcomings,” said Ngcobo.

eThekwini’s supply regulations are garnered from government’s Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), however, not all public sector supply chain personnel are familiar with its policies.

“eThekwini had to comply with MFMA policies because we are a local government body. But more importantly, we had to align our procedures to its procurement best practices so that we can derive the greatest possible value from our procurement activities. The Commerce Edge Competency Development tool has enabled us to realise this goal and I hope to further entrench eThekwini’s partnership with Commerce Edge,” he said.

eThekwini’s Supply Chain Operations participated in some of Commerce Edge’s in-house training programmes, such as ‘Public Sector Strategic Sourcing’ and ‘Project Management for Procurement Professionals’.

“I feel that we have made real improvements in the skills of our supply chain personnel and, with Commerce Edge’s guidance, tremendous strides in improving industry competency. We are thrilled to have our efforts acknowledged with an Appreciation Award from our pears at IPSA”, enthused Ngcobo.

For further information on eThekwini Municipality’s competency development initiative contact Sandile Ngcobo on 031 311 3253 or email him at ngcobosc@durban.gov.za.

Alternatively, register for SmartProcurement’s Public Sector Supply Chain Summit on 18 & 19 August, where Sandile will be discussing ‘Public sector competency and skills development models’, using eThekwini Municipality’s training initiative as a case study. To register contact Erieka Santos on 086 133 4326.