Teamwork needed to rebuild SA’s economy

Taking over the reins at Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA), incoming president Olu Soluade’s platform for the 2022/23 term is ‘A Call to Service’. Soluade has stated that it’s time for all stakeholders in the industry to come together and commit to aiding South Africa’s socioeconomic recovery.

CESA’s Olu Soluade (left), incoming president for the 2022/23 period, together with Chris Campbell, CEO P resenting at a media address in February 2022, Soluade referenced the hope that was ignited in the hearts of South Africans in Zurich 18 years ago when South Africa was announced as the hosting country for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He stated that this was the birthing moment for working in unity as a country and proving that – together – we can be and do anything.

As the presidential year begins, the main goal is to reignite the passion of the nation. “We have the ability to rewrite the gloomy narrative which has dominated our lives in recent years - the pandemic and its challenges. We can overcome, we can recover. But we have a lot of work to do. As an industry we need to ask ourselves, where do we even begin?” Soluade said.

“The construction industry was again the worst-performing sector in the economy in 2021. Whatever goals we are looking to achieve, whatever message we want to convey and whatever progress we want to make are underpinned not by the what, but by the how. We know what needs to be done to move our industry and our country forward – it is the way we do it which will define our success. I believe the time has come for us all to get involved in contributing to the economic recovery of our country,” he further stated.

Five key focus areas

Much like the saying, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together’, Soluade stated that the focus for the year is on the ‘Team’ concept – working together to achieve more.

The five key focus areas identified by CESA for 2022: 1. Increase advocacy efforts in the area of sustainable transformation in respect of race, gender and technology in the sector. 2. Maintain the standards of professionalism and build on the levels of quality management while encouraging the increased need for members to integrate

"We know what needs to be done to move our industry and our country forward – it is the way we do it that will define our success.”

sustainability into the solutions offered to their clients. 3. Improve on the business and advisory support to members and clients with an emphasis on best practice procurement guided by the prescripts of Section 217 of the Constitution. 4. Continue efforts towards building and strengthening partnerships with government, private sector client bodies, as well as with other stakeholders. 5. Ensure that good governance and integrity prevail within the industry and profession, particularly among CESA’s members as the apex body for the consulting engineering sector in the country.

BECS findings

These focus areas are a response to the challenges within the industry reflected in the 2021 CESA Bi-Annual Economic and Capacity Survey (BECS). Concerns highlighted by respondents included regulations, procurement, skills development, and private sector participation in challenges faced by the public sector. Ethics, accountability and corruption were other key areas of concern.

Soluade stated that while tender activity has improved, there’s still minimal evidence that the tenders are being awarded at any sort of reasonable pace. “It also raises questions about the claim that any of the gazetted Strategic Infrastructure Projects from 2020 were indeed ‘shovelready’ or being fast-tracked on any sort of broad base,” said Soluade.

Approximately 50% of the project activity had arisen in the past year from the private sector, which traditionally was not the main source of workflow for consulting engineers. Public sector clients, including state-owned companies, have typically comprised about 60% of project activity – with the BECS revealing alarming numbers of project cancellations and fierce competition among bidders.

“As an industry, we call on President Cyril Ramaphosa to focus government’s efforts on unlocking the much publicised close to R900 billion project pipeline into shovel-ready projects. We believe the state can achieve this by leveraging as much of the technical and built environment capacity in the private sector as is needed to fill the gaps that exist in the public sector as a matter of urgency,” Soluade continued.

Preparing the next generation

CESA also revealed that it aims to be inclusive to the younger generation of professionals by setting them up for success so that they may sustain and build the industry and CESA well into the future. Considering this, three more goals can be added to CESA’s 2022 strategy: 1. Enhancing the student branch footprint.

CESA can influence the next generation and guide them into their preferred career paths as consulting engineers. 2. Begin an annual sponsorship of graduates in an internship every year, with the purpose of building the feedstock of

CESA’s Young Professionals Forum. 3. To increase the next generation’s broadbased leadership skills through initiatives that include CESA’s Business of Consulting

Engineering Programme.

What it takes to be of service

To make ‘A Call to Service’ a workable model, Soluade noted four key requirements, namely: • Availability: the need to set aside and volunteer time in preparation for the tasks ahead. • Willingness: showing enthusiasm to be a part of the tasks. • Sacrifice: there will be tough decisions that need to be made. • Vision: sharing an end goal. “As a voluntary association, we are by nature in service and we call on others in our industry to set the example of serving with pride, integrity, honour and discipline,” Soluade concluded.