Minister of Minerals and Energy, Ms Buyelwa Sonjica.

The Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) announced today that the South African Supplier Development Agency (Sasda) will be incorporated into the CEF Group of Companies as part of broader initiatives to accelerate the empowerment of BEE suppliers in the oil industry.

Sasda was established in March 2005 by the DME in conjunction with the seven major oil companies which constitute the South African Petroleum Industry Association (Sapia).

Its brief is to facilitate increased access by BEE suppliers to procurement opportunities in the petroleum industry, in compliance with the Liquid Fuels Charter of 2000. One of its key focus areas is the development of black suppliers to meet the industry's required standards.

The Minister of Minerals and Energy, Ms Buyelwa Sonjica, said today that Sasda's new role would also include a special focus on supplier development within State-owned Enterprises.

"As a Department we remain committed to achieving one of our major goals which is to develop globally competitive black South African suppliers in the petroleum and liquid fuels industry.

"By locating Sasda as a division within the ambit of CEF, which is an energy-focused company, we believe that new momentum will be gained," said Minister Sonjica.

Mr Connel Ngcukana, a Director of Sapia, which previously controlled Sasda, welcomed the new development.

"We as Sapia remain committed to supplier development and meeting the transformation targets set out in the Liquid Fuels Charter. We will continue interacting with Sasda and sharing best practices and learnings from other development initiatives," Mr Ngcukana said.

CEF (Pty) Ltd manages specific energy interests on behalf of the Government and primarily acts as a catalyst for the development of new energy entities.

It controls entities within the sector with commercial and developmental roles, housed in six operating subsidiaries. These are PetroSA (the Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa), iGAS (the South African Gas Development Company), Petroleum Agency SA, Oil Pollution Control SA, the Strategic Fuel Fund Association and the South African National Energy Research Institute (Saneri).

Among other corporate functions, CEF (Pty) Ltd also manages the Central Energy Fund on behalf of the Government.