Subscribers may have noted that for the past few months we have been displaying the CIDB grading of construction tenders in our database.  We implemented this innovation during 2012 in response to requests from subscribers wishing to distinguish construction from other tenders.  But the CIDB grading tells us more than that.

Over the past 2 decades, in an attempt to reduce the insecurity experienced by government departments wishing to employ contractors, most government departments have started registering contractors on some form of government database.  In Botswana, both contractors and consultants are required to register on the PPADB database if they wish to tender for government contracts.

To register as a contractor or consultant with the PPADB,  go to: http://www.ppadb.co.bw/CR_forms.html

In South Africa, contractors must register on the Construction Industry Development Board’s contractor register.

To register as a contractor on the CIDB Contractor Register, go to: https://registers.cidb.org.za/

The CIDB was established in terms of the Construction Industry Development Board Act 38 of 2000.  The CIDB register grades each contractor in terms of the size of contract the contractor is permitted to handle.   The lowest CIDB grading is Grade 1 and the

highest is Grade 9.  Grade 1 contractors may tender for contracts with a maximum tender value of R200 000, whereas Grade 2 contractors may tender for contracts with an upper tende

r value of R650 000.  Various factors are monitored and verified by the CIDB in order to determine the grading of contractors: annual turnover, size of contracts successfully completed, track record, etc.

There are 20 standard CIDB grading systems (civil engineering, general building, electrical, mechanical engineering, etc), and government departments are required to spell out what grade of contractor may tender for particular construction projects.  This means that only contractors with a CIDB grading of 3CE or higher may tender for the construction of a road of estimated value of R2 million, only a CIDB graded 4GB (or higher) contractor may tender for the construction of a building with an estimated value of R4 million, and so on.  The second highest grading is 8 with a maximum tender value of R130 million, and the highest CIDB grading is 9, for which there is no maximum tender value.

Apart from the standard CIDB grading system, there is an additional category of “Potentially Emerging” contractors.  Thus a Black contractor can be graded 2CEPE, which has certain benefits in terms of eligibility to tender for larger contracts.  Generally, a potentially emerging contractor is permitted to bid for tenders reserved for contractors graded one category higher – i.e. a contractor graded 2CEPE is allowed to bid for tenders restricted to 3CE contractors.  The overwhelming majority of contractors (over 100 000) have achieved the CIDB grading of 1.  The lack of progress in terms of facilitating the movement of these grade 1 contractors up the ladder is seen as a major problem in terms of transforming the SA construction sector.

The CIDB falls under the SA Dept Public Works, and the current Minister is Mr Thulas Nxesi.  The current CEO of the CIDB is Ms Ursula Ntsubane, who was appointed in March 2012.  It is hoped that certain amendments to the CIDB Regulations currently being finalized will assist in transforming the construction industry, and will assist contractors in improving their CIDB grading.