Construction industry unites to form a national umbrella body

As a result of the pandemic and Covid-19’s onslaught on the precast concrete industry, the Concrete Manufacturers’ Association is involved in the transformation of a response task team into a unified construction industry alliance. The alliance would form an umbrella body, Construction Alliance South Africa (CASA), which is made up of 29 of the sectors’ professional, contractor, supplier and other bodies.

According to CMA general manager, Henry Cockcroft, the alliance was officially launched on 21 January 2021 and is an important step towards uniting the voice of the industry and facilitating smooth dialogue with government.

Industry stalwart John Matthews, the chairperson of CASA, says the need for unity in the sector cannot be over-emphasised and because of the shared vision of an innovative, competitive and transformed industry, the formation of CASA is a historic and welcome achievement.

Future plans

“It’s also important as it comes at a crucial time, when the industry is in engagements with the presidency on the roll-out of strategic integrated infrastructure projects to revive the economy,” says Matthews.

Emphasising the need for a united industry voice in confronting the industry’s challenges, Gregory Mofokeng of the Black Business Council in the Built Environment (BBCBE), who is the deputy chairperson of CASA, says it is important for the industry to forge a united front to demonstrate a serious commitment to collectively respond to industry issues.

CASA is made up of different industry bodies from across the sector with the broad objective of having joint representation in engagements on matters of mutual concern. It is expected that the alliance will not only lead a post-Covid-19 recovery of the industry, but also tackle other longstanding issues that include accelerated transformation of the sector and protection of the industry from subsidised foreign competition, as well as dealing with corruption and unethical business practices.

Covid-19 response

The construction industry successfully formed a Covid-19 response team at the beginning of the pandemic in April 2020. The Construction Covid-19 Rapid Response Task Team was key in developing a wellco-ordinated industry response to the coronavirus pandemic, including the safe reactivation of construction sites as lockdown restrictions were eased.

The task team was also instrumental in co-ordinating and presenting the industry’s thinking on the national economic recovery plan. Following these recorded successes of the joint effort, the industry agreed on the need to form an alliance built on the shared goal of rebuilding the sector.

The Construction Alliance SA membership consists of: the Association of Architectural Aluminium Manufacturers of SA, the Association of Construction Health & Safety Management, the Association of Construction Project Managers, the Aggregate & Sand Producers’ Association of SA, the BBCBE, Consulting Engineers SA, the Chartered Institute of Building, the Clay Brick Association of SA, the Concrete Manufacturers’ Association, the Construction Management Foundation, Cox Yeats Attorneys, the Institute for Landscape Architecture in SA, Master Builders SA, the National Construction Incubator, the National Spa & Pool Institute of Southern Africa, the South African Affordable Residential Developers’ Association, the SA Association of Consulting Professional Planners, the SA Black Technical & Allied Careers Organisation, the SA Geomatics Institute, the SA Green Industry Council, the SA Institute of Architects, the SA Institute of Black Property Practitioners, the SA Paint Manufacturing Association, the SA Property Owners’ Association, SA Women in Construction & Built Environment, the Association of SA Quantity Surveyors, The Concrete Institute (TCI), the SA Institution of Civil Engineering and the Western Cape Property Development Forum, with Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal as the convenor.

(Left, from top): John Matthews, chairperson of CASA and Gregory Mofokeng, deputy chairperson of CASA.