Black economic empowerment companies (BEE) have improved their share of spending by Old Mutual Properties on outsourced services for buildings in the company’s portfolios to 56% in 2004, according to Richard Murphy, head of the facilities management division.
Old Mutual Properties, the property management subsidiary of UK and South Africa listed financial services group Old Mutual, said on Monday that the value of successful tenders for cleaning, pest control, waste management, hygiene, security and landscaping services for the portfolios in 2004 totalled R49,8-million rand.
“Of that total, R28,1-million will accrue to empowerment companies,” said Murphy.
“This will be for services required for commercial, industrial and retail properties in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern and Western Cape.
“The largest percentage increases in BEE spending were achieved in KwaZulu-
Natal and Western Cape, with a virtual doubling of expenditure. There was a 27% increase in BEE spending in Gauteng, the largest of the portfolios.”
Murphy added that the increased spending had resulted in the creation of 1 213 jobs across all regions on contracts. The biggest items on the services budget in the portfolios were cleaning and security, and empowerment companies had significantly increased their share of these categories with the latest tenders.
“There was also a notable increase in the share of landscaping services in Gauteng, where BEE spending in 2004 has trebled to more than R1-million,” he said. I-Net Bridge