One suspects that land developers from all over South Africa will be falling over themselves to tender for 69 vacant, fully serviced single residential plots of between 701m² and 1 318m² in the Die Bult development.

The tender has been called by the Western Cape provincial government's Department of Transport and Public Works and closes at 11am on September 9.

George is a favoured holiday town and the ground is bordered by the Outeniqua Park Rugby Stadium, the King George Hotel and the George Youth Centre. It abuts the George Golf Course and overlooks the Outeniquas.

The tender number is PM05/2004. D ocuments are no longer available in George, but can still be obtained at Room 4-19, 9 Dorp Street, Cape Town, for a non-refundable R50, or by e-mail (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), provided the R50 has been deposited into the department's Absa account, number 405 491 0146, branch code 632005, and proof of payment faxed to Noel Abrahams at (021) 483-4297.

Abrahams, whose physical work address is 4-16, fourth floor, 9 Dorp Street, Cape Town 8000, and phone number is (021) 483-5850, will field questions.

The City of Johannesburg is inviting companies to submit proposals for the formulation of a land management system (LMS) that will, among other needs, formulate the city's new zoning scheme and its supporting policies, such as bulk contributions.

Those who tender must be skilled in town planning, property development, financial modelling, engineering and project management, and have legal expertise.

Erika Naudé on (011) 407-6871 will field questions, and proposals "clearly marked with the name of the project", must be delivered to her on the 10th floor, A Block, Metro Centre, 158 Loveday Street, Braamfontein, by no later than midday on August 23.

The Chemical Industries Edu cation and Training Authority (Chieta) would like to appoint "10 suitably qualified contractors to conduct feasibility studies for the development of 10 new learnerships" for the chemical industry.

They are biotechnology, pipe fitting, electrical and mechanical master artisan, process technician, fluorochem, medical research associate, glass mechanician, specialised logistics (warehouse management, packaging and quarantine logistics) and application specialist (explosives and fertilisers).

Copies of the terms of reference can be obtained from Bandisa Simelane, telephone ( 011) 725-4026 or e-mail bsimelane@chieta. org.za, who should also be asked where the submissions must be delivered.

Marriam Kwakwa-Christoper can be phoned on the same number for technical assistance. The closing date is August 21.

The Department of Public Enterprises Bid No DPE 07/2004-2005 calls for proposals for a benchmarking exercise to determine performance indicators for state-owned enterprises (SOE), which can be interpreted as an indication that it is embarking on a long-overdue programme to tighten up their performances.

It intends to use "the indicators developed in this process to set performance targets for the SOEs that report to the ministry".

Bid documents are available from the department at Suite 207, InfoTech Building, 1090 Arcadia Street, Hatfield, Pretoria.

The closing date is August 27 at 11am and the people to contact for information are Nompucuko Nontombana or Mmabatho Langa at (012) 431-1102 or (012) 431-1007.

People and corporations that tender have the right to remain anonymous until their tenders are opened by whoever called the tender. We presume, however, that one of the bits of information tenderers would like to know when entities call for tenders is the name of the person, the company or the body calling the tender, even if the tendering process is being managed by a third-party company.

Even municipalities, which have never been shy to say which one is calling the tender, are being compelled now to be more transparent in their tendering and procurement processes by the provisions of the Local Government Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003, which obliges them to adopt policies that provide for "the opening, registering and recording of bids in the presence of interested parties".

This doesn't apply to the private sector so, although it's unusual, the secrecy and stringent requirements of a tender advertised in last week's Business Times shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

The advertiser, a "closed national medical scheme with approximately 130 000 principal members covering approximately 350 000 lives, requires the services of an administrator to provide it with administration and managed healthcare services", didn't divulge its name and made it quite clear that "interested parties" had to communicate with KPMG, which administered the tender, by e-mail only: "No telephone calls please."

Interviews were granted only to those who could provide documentary proof of qualifications.

It may not be a friendly way of encouraging people to tender, but it obviously limits the selection process to only those who stand an excellent chance of getting appointed.

Business Times