Objectives

The primary objective is to lease designated campus sites to qualified service providers for operating food trucks, retail containers, and vending machines over a five-year period. The initiative aims to enhance student and staff access to diverse food, retail, and ancillary services while ensuring high standards of safety, hygiene, and operational efficiency.

Scope of Work

Providers will operate across multiple university campuses, offering a wide array of goods and services including fresh produce, groceries, dairy, Halaal-certified items (Islamic dietary-compliant food), grab-and-go meals, vending products, and ancillary services such as waterless car washes, sneaker cleaning, and hair/nail salons. Local specialties like Kota (layered street sandwiches), Ulusu (tripe stew), Mnqambulo (samp and beans), and traditional "Heads and Feet" preparations are explicitly permitted. Vendors manage all shopfitting, equipment, and daily operations within strict dimensional limits (containers: max ~6.06m × 2.44m × 2.59m; food trucks: max 4.0m × 2.0m × 2.0m). The university supplies single-phase electricity up to 60 amps per site; vendors handle all downstream installations using approved electricians and must submit a valid Certificate of Compliance (CoC) before trading. Fixed monthly rental is R3,000 (excl. VAT) plus utilities, applicable February–November.

Technical Requirements

• Regulatory & Compliance: Valid Certificate of Acceptability, Hawkers Licence, COIDA registration (South African employee injury/illness compensation scheme), UIF proof (unemployment insurance fund), B-BBEE certificate/affidavit, and public liability insurance (minimum R2 million).
• Safety & Hygiene: Strict adherence to occupational health and safety legislation, monthly pest control, quarterly deep cleaning, valid food safety training certificates, and compliance with university waste management policies.
• Sustainability & Operations: Mandatory use of biodegradable/compostable packaging, submission of a food surplus donation plan, and provision of a detailed operating model covering menu, pricing, staffing, maintenance, and health & safety protocols.
• Security & Conduct: Staff must comply with stringent university security measures (ID verification, bag searches, fingerprinting, polygraph testing), maintain strict confidentiality, operate as independent contractors, and refrain from subcontracting without written consent.
• Geopolitical Clause: Bidders must formally acknowledge the university’s resolution restricting business engagements with Israeli-origin entities complicit in human rights violations.

Skills and Experience Requirements

• Management Expertise: Proposed teams must demonstrate relevant hospitality or food retail experience, with scoring heavily favoring five or more years of proven track records.
• Company Track Record: Applicants must show sustained involvement in restaurant, catering, food truck, or vending operations, supported by company profiles and verifiable reference letters from current contracts.
• Operational Planning: Submissions require a comprehensive functional proposal detailing customer service approaches, marketing strategies, staffing plans, and premises maintenance routines.
• Evaluation Threshold: Only proposals achieving a minimum functionality score of 70 out of 100 will advance. Final selection considers highest-scoring responsive bids alongside mandatory compliance verification.