Accentuate urges state to pay companies promptly

THABANG MOKOPANELE

THE government should implement an effective mechanism for paying small contractors, a move that could help it to meet its service delivery obligations, Fred Platt, the CEO of infrastructure and construction- focused company Accentuate , said yesterday.

Releasing six-month results to end-December, Platt said the government needed to pay small contractors on time as they were the ones that could help the state speed up service delivery.

Small businesses have complained bitterly over the years about the government’s lax attitude to paying on time as this affects cash flow, leading to some companies closing shop.

“The challenge is for government to pay on time. We are cautiously optimistic that this year will be much better than the previous year,” Platt said.

He said Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane’s promise in her state of the province speech last week to address the government’s payment backlog was encouraging.

“The effective paying mechanism by the government would actually energise the economy and at the same time assist in the state meeting its mandate obligations,” Platt said.

Attributable profit for the six months of R8,47m amounted to 89,6% of the R9,45m profit achieved for the whole of the 2009 financial year and management was confident that profit levels would remain at these levels for the rest of the financial year

mokopanelet@bdfm.co.za