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Engineers to assist with NDP infrastructure delivery

December 3rd, 2014, Published in Articles: Energize, Articles: EngineerIT, Articles: PositionIT, Articles: Vector

 

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CESA vice president Lynne Pretorius, Public Works minister Thulas Nxesi and CESA CEO Lefadi Makibinyane.

Public works minister Thulas Nxesi says government cannot deliver the National Development Plan (NDP) alone and the engineering fraternity must assist it in delivering the priorities of the NDP.

Delivering his keynote address at the recent Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) Conference, Nxesi said the challenge at the moment is that of infrastructure delivery.

“The chaos in all the processes and projects is a result of an imbalance created by lack of engineering capacity within government. Combating fraud and corruption is also a pillar of the NDP”.

He said efficient procurement is central to government priorities and sustainable engineering should lead to sustainable development, eventually resulting in a green economy.

The CESA Annual Conference took place in Limpopo Province between 9 and 11 November. It was themed, “Together sustaining engineering – delivering NDP priorities”. Delegates in attendance represented the Department of Public Works; Transnet; Eskom; SANRAL; DBSA; CIDB; the Department of Higher Education; ECSA; IMESA and Corruption Watch, among others.

Government has identified infrastructure development as key to the socio-economic development of the country. The consulting engineering industry has a large multiplier effect on the development of the infrastructure as these engineers are the designers who create the large-scale infrastructure projects which employ large numbers of people during construction, operation and maintenance phases of infrastructure.

The topics discussed at the conference included infrastructure investment; creating a conducive and transformational environment for procurement; the role of education in addressing sectoral lack of capacity, and promoting work opportunities for SMMEs. Presentations were delivered by CESA; the Department of Public Works; the DBSA; Eskom’s Engineering Centre of Excellence; Transnet; AECOM; CIDB; PCES; Aurecon; SANRAL; GIBB; the Department of Higher Education and ECSA.

The conference was wrapped up with the conference resolutions, presented by CESA CEO Lefadi Makibinyane. Among these resolutions was training and development, and transformation and development in the consulting engineering sector to ensure that provisional funds in project fee schedules are spent appropriately to unlock job opportunities.

CESA’s Makibinyane called for  the private sector to consider the government and the NDP’s  goals when setting up their corporate strategies to ensure a meeting of minds between government and business.

Copies of the presentations delivered at the conference may be viewed at www.cesa.co.za/node/474.

Contact Dennis Ndaba, CESA, Tel 011 463-2022, dennis@cesa.co.za

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