| 1.1 |
The purpose of this circular is to inform district offices and schools about the procedure for the procurement of furniture and equipment in 2017 for 2018. |
| 1.2 |
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has a three-year furniture contract to supply furniture to all schools in the Western Cape Province. This contract involves 31 school furniture items in the attached catalogue (Annexure A). Schools may request only from the list of furniture items on the attached WCED 026A form (Annexure B). |
| 1.3 |
Items of equipment must be requested on the WCED 026B form (Annexure C). |
| 2. |
Procedure for the prioritisation and procurement of additional furniture and equipment for existing schools (top-ups) |
| 2.1 |
All requests for furniture and equipment from existing schools should be submitted on the correct form to the school’s circuit manager by 03 February 2017. |
| 2.2 |
The WCED 026A requisition form for furniture top-ups and the WCED 026B requisition form for equipment top-ups must be completed. |
| 2.3 |
District directors will evaluate furniture and equipment requests in all circuits and compile a prioritised list of items in line with the available budget. This prioritised list will be sent to the Chief Directorate: Districts by 24 February 2017, for approval. |
| 2.4 |
District offices will notify schools in writing as to whether their requests or parts thereof were approved, amended or not approved. |
| 2.5 |
The Directorate: Institutional Resource Support at Head Office will place orders for the approved prioritised furniture and equipment. |
| 2.6 |
The furniture and equipment have a one year warranty period from the date of delivery to school with the following stipulations: |
| 2.6.2 |
The WCED will liaise with suppliers in order to arrange repairs or replacements as soon as possible for furniture and equipment items that become defective within the first year of receipt by the school. |
| 2.7 |
Should schools order furniture directly from suppliers, payment for such orders will be for the account of the school. |
| 2.8 |
Schools are advised to make use of their annual norms and standards allocation and school funds for the purchasing and/or maintenance of furniture and equipment not prioritised by the district office. |
| 3. |
Management of furniture and equipment at schools |
| 3.1 |
Schools must establish a procurement committee which will be responsible for keeping updated records of furniture and equipment in the possession of the school (see the guidelines, Basic Financial System for Schools). |
| 3.2 |
Obsolete furniture or equipment must be written off and disposed of after a decision has been taken at a disposal meeting. The minutes of the meeting must reflect such a decision and must be available for monitoring purposes. |
| 3.3 |
Defective furniture or equipment that can still be repaired must be properly stored to prevent further damage. |
| 3.4 |
Schools must update their inventory records annually (stock on hand, disposals and shortages). These records should be used to verify the need for top-ups and must be made available for district monitoring purposes. |
| 3.5 |
An online inventory system was developed on CEMIS for schools to capture their inventory records. During the course of 2016 all schools were afforded an opportunity to capture their available furniture and equipment online. This enables schools to annually determine their furniture and equipment top-up needs and to print out an inventory for audit purposes. |
| 3.6 |
Schools will be provided with an opportunity to access CEMIS on an annual basis to update their furniture and equipment inventories online. |
| 3.7 |
In order to safeguard assets against theft, schools are encouraged to clearly mark all furniture and equipment items. |
| 4. |
Thank you for your cooperation in these important matters. |
SIGNED: BK SCHREUDER
ACTING HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2016:11:12
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