Small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs) have been urged to provide inputs for the development of the Defence Industry Sectoral Charter, which will seek, among other things, to advance black economic empowerment in the local defence industry. The call was made by Department of Defence (DoD) industry governance director Trevor Mketi at the Armscor Supplier Open Day in Centurion, south of Pretoria, on Thursday.

The Defence Industry Sectoral Charter, which has been mandated by the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, is currently being drawn up. "A steering committee with inclusive membership has been established to drive the development of the charter," he highlighted.

Public submissions were welcome. "Come and make your contribution to the steering committee." He cautioned business people, if they did not make submissions, not to complain later that they had not been consulted. In terms of the charter, military veterans would be a specially-designated group within the defence sector.

He also urged SMMEs to join the South African Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Industries Association (AMD). "A lot of people don't understand why they should be AMD members. But it is important for us. [It makes it easy for the DoD and other government departments to interact with the defence industry.] So I plead with you to join AMD."

Mketi further warned SMMEs about errors they can make when bidding for defence contracts. "Sometimes, small companies shoot themselves in the foot." For example, they submit bids but forget to include the Tax Clearance Certificate. Without this, their bids won't even be considered.

Defence acquisition, disposals and research and development agency Armscor's acquisitions GM JS Mkwanazi highlighted that his organisation also procured less complex products and systems. These were especially suitable for SMMEs and included such things as tents, clothing and cooking equipment. Other potential areas of work included maintenance, repair and the supply of spare parts.

Overall, Armscor's acquisition/procurement activities embraced complex systems, subsystems, less complex areas and product support. It oversaw the whole life cycle of every acquisition, from start to disposal.

The agency applied "mandatory and critical criteria. ...There are certain stringent requirements, for we are a defence industry," he stressed. Companies must register and undergo vetting, because defence programmes are often classified.

SMMEs often fail in tendering for defence programmes because they do not meet critical criteria, or because they make incomplete submissions, or because of the complexity of the systems sought or because they cannot meet Armscor's special requirements (such as military standards, packaging, bank guarantees and financing).