President’s comment

Rebuild and renew

Watching the rise and fall of the various Covid-19 waves has been a taxing experience; however, we are beginning to see a far more positive trend in the increasing number of vaccinated people, which will hopefully help us return to a high degree of normality.

We’re already seeing a return to a measure of normality in other parts of the world, like the UK and USA, where sporting events are again packed to capacity. It’s also encouraging to see how countries within the G7 group have pledged their support to funding vaccine roll-outs to developing nations – a case in point being the 5.66 million Pfizer vaccine doses donated by the USA in August 2021 to support South Africa’s vaccination drive.

Across the world, there’s a renewed commitment to end the pandemic, which is being driven locally and globally by potential policy shifts within public and private sector entities. The World Health Organization, for example, is currently mulling the pros and cons of a so-called vaccine passport, as are countries like South Africa. However, debate continues about the potential infringement of personal freedom of choice.

Locally and internationally, though, there’s a definite trend from employers to make vaccinations mandatory for employees. In South Africa, Discovery was one of the first employers to make this policy. Internationally, Canada has announced its intention to make it a requirement for all employees across their federal public service. However, the first prize is for responsible citizens to step forward voluntarily, which is happening in increasing numbers.

As a sign of optimism, we’ve already booked the East London International Convention Centre for next year’s conference, which will be held between 26 and 28 October 2022. The last time we hosted a conference there was in 2016.

IMESA/CESA Excellence Awards

In the meantime, we’ve had an excellent uptake for the virtual IMESA 2021 Conference, which will convene online on 17 to 19 November. Although many of the on-site benefits can’t be offered, the delegates who registered in the early-bird period will still receive their traditional conference bag.

We’re also excited to confirm that we’ve received an exceptional range of entries for our biennial IMESA/CESA Excellence Awards. This was due to take place during the annual conference in October 2020, which was postponed due to Covid-19.

Our judges were faced with the challenge of narrowing down the final winners from an exceptionally innovative and diverse range of submissions across the three competition categories. These are Engineering Excellence in Structures and Civils; Environment and Climate Change; and Community Upliftment and Job Creation. The project submissions undergo a thorough evaluation process by representatives from both IMESA and CESA.

The showcased projects range from reservoirs, irrigation schemes, water and sanitation systems to national roads, interchanges, and bridge refurbishment – all aimed at establishing essential and enabling infrastructure. Municipalities involved include the City of Cape Town, eThekwini, and the City of Johannesburg, as well as many of smaller local municipalities. It’s great to see new names among the consultants and contractors too.

A special evening is being arranged in Cape Town in November 2021 for the winners to receive their certificates and awards. All the submissions, with the announcement of the winners, will be shown online at the IMESA 2021 Conference and included in the November/December 2021 issue of IMIESA.

Thanks, once again, to all those delegates who have already joined us for the conference. As an industry, we’re all looking forward to the 2021 event, but even more so to gathering in East London next year to engage as delegates in a physical setting once again.

Bhavna Soni, president, IMESA