President’s comment

First, I’d like to open by wishing all our members and IMIESA readers a happy and prosperous 2022! The past two years certainly haven’t been easy but, despite this, the adaptability of our society to respond positively to change has been widely evident across all spheres.

UPSKILLING AND ENGAGEMENT IN

This is underscored by the matric results achieved by the class of 2021. For private schools, the 98.39% Independent Examinations Board pass rate is certainly an incredible achievement. Equally so is the 76.4% National Senior Certificate pass rate for public schools, given the frequent disparities – or digital divide – when it comes to ease of access to the internet, tablets and PCs among poorer rural and township communities. This was certainly a crucial factor as schools shifted to online learning during the Covid-19 hard lockdowns, which greatly impacted the Grade 11 year and meant even more intensive study was required to catch up during Grade 12.

This makes it even more commendable that many learners faced up to unprecedented challenges and beat the odds, with the dedicated input of their teachers. This underscores the fact that – with the right focus, mentorship and financial support – no one need be left behind.

IMESA bursary scheme

This is an important mandate for IMESA, which is why we established a bursary scheme in 2000 for full-time tertiary studies in the field of civil engineering. The goal is to award 10 bursaries annually to current students in need of funding to continue their studies. In addition to external applicants, IMESA’s bursary scheme also recognises the achievements of students and prospective candidates who are dependants of IMESA members. Bursary applications are received between June and September for the following year of study. The short list for 2022 is being finalised now. A mentor is appointed for each bursary student and they are encouraged to participate in IMESA activities.

Alongside this initiative, IMESA has traditionally run a series of training programmes for practising municipal engineers nationally. We plan to reinitiate classroom sessions wherever possible during 2022, Covid-19 regulations permitting.

Strategic direction

In preparation for 2022, the IMESA Exco met towards the end of last year to revisit and refine our objectives. We’re on a membership drive in 2022, reaching out to all municipalities to promote IMESA membership and services.

Locally, we will support our IMESA regional branches by updating operations guidelines and setting up a forum for branch chairs to meet and discuss local matters. Then, internationally – and to build on the ‘Southern Africa’ part of the IMESA name – we intend to establish branches in our neighbouring and other SADC countries. This is a long-overdue initiative.

We’ll also be building on our engagement with the South African Local Government Association (Salga), as well as continuing to develop our strategic liaisons with government agencies at national level. The goal is to improve the operating environment for municipal engineering and infrastructure development in general. Establishing a database of municipal infrastructure engineering capacity in terms of numbers and needs in local government is an ongoing project. This enables IMESA to identify members’ technical interests, knowledge gaps, as well as skills available for mentoring and consulting. That in turn influences how IMESA updates and rolls out new training courses.

From a personal perspective, one of my key objectives during my term as IMESA President for the 2020-2022 term is to make ethics a compulsory component for professional registration with ECSA. Ethics defines us and our societies, and we need to champion and uphold the highest standards. Leading by example is the best way to instill the values needed by future generations to reshape and rebuild our infrastructure landscape.

Bhavna Soni, president, IMESA