In its current webinar series on Protecting Lives and Livelihoods, Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) recently hosted a panel discussion to address how the state’s technical capacity can be improved and sustainable solutions implemented to deliver tangible long-term benefits. The concepts of skills development, sustainable change and public capacity to implement infrastructure development effectively were discussed.

The development of infrastructure in support of the country’s economic reconstruction and recovery requires greater state capacity and the building of skills at every level.

Chaired by Danielle Petterson, editor of Water & Sanitation Africa, the panel included:

• Ntandazo Vimba, Chief Executive Officer, Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA)
• Cas Coovadia, Chief Executive Officer, Business Unity South Africa
• Professor Dirk Kotzé, Lecturer, UNISA Department of Political Sciences
• Refilwe Lesufi, Founding Owner, Prana Consulting
• Dr Gustav Rohde, Chief Executive Officer, Zutari.

Lesufi kicked off the discussion citing the current challenges South Africa faces in the development of sustainable infrastructure. Prominent on this list was the issue of available skills. “Professional engineers are leaving the country, young engineers are disheartened and leaving the industry, and this impacts the ability of government to engage in long-term planning and across institutions.” She said there are huge opportunities to create the skills the country needs by combining education, experience and training initiatives. “We have the power to create the required skills,” she said.

In agreement with Lesufi, Coovadia raised a concern in highlighting the case of the SANDF’s procurement of Cuban expertise for military equipment maintenance. “This is something government should not allow. Considering our rate of unemployment, it is mind boggling that we could not train our own people with technical courses to fill this role.” He said the first question that should be asked when procuring skills or services is whether we can procure these locally. “Failing this, the question should be: ‘Can we train the right people for the job?’ This will ensure that transformation and inclusion are top of mind.” Coovadia emphasised that the sustainability of businesses and the economy depends on transformation and inclusion. “It is not a social or CSI issue; it is a hard economic and business concern,” he said.

Tackling the topic from a wider perspective, Vimba suggested that poor collaboration and coordination internally and across the three spheres of government, as well as business and civil society, undermines South Africa’s ability to execute sustainable development. “The District Development Model should go some way towards addressing this,” he said. The model aims to improve the coherence and impact of government service delivery with a focus on 44 districts and eight metros around the country. These are to serve as development spaces that can be used as centres of service delivery and economic development, including job creation. Vimba also highlighted climate change as another challenge facing South Africa. “Infrastructure solutions need to take this into consideration. Further, our limited resources mean we must be innovative and be willing to try new ways of doing things.”

Dr Rohde highlighted the existing capacity in South Africa – consulting engineers who are eager to provide expertise to see the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery plan succeed. “As infrastructure consultants we have a huge role to play in the design, delivery and maintenance of infrastructure. We cannot allow this critical programme to be hijacked by corruption or poor implementation.” He said CESA members are aligned to a strong integrity policy and are committed to sustainable development initiatives.

On the topic of funding, Professor Kotzé posed the question of who should be responsible for infrastructure development. “At the moment there seems to be no answer to this question, and it should be addressed systematically.” He says funding currently appears to come one third from the private sector and two thirds from the public sector.

Promoting South Africa as an attractive investment opportunity was a theme on which all panellists agreed.

For more information visit: www.cesa.co.za

The virtual Manufacturing Indaba will take place 9^th and 10^th December with the parallel conference due to discuss issues critical to the revitalisation and growth of manufacturers and manufacturing in South Africa. The conference will focus on the growth perspective of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) in focused industry sectors, as detailed in the IPAP (Industrial Policy Action Plan), and explore challenges and solutions to lead progress in each sector.

Lekela, the renewable power generation company that delivers utility-scale projects across Africa, recently announced that its 140 MW Kangnas wind farm in South Africa had successfully reached commercial operation. This marks the completion of all five wind farms that constitute the first portfolio of wind farms delivered by a Lekela-led consortium in South Africa. Together, these offer a total capacity of over 600 MW and will provide clean, cost-effective power for up to 485 000 South African homes (or equivalent offtake) over the next 20 years.

SPS Connect will take place virtually this year and Siemens is hosting a special virtual event 26^th November 2020, to present new products, services and solutions in its Digital Enterprise portfolio. Companies in the manufacturing and process industries can make use of these to react to rapidly changing market requirements and conditions.

On 16 October 2020, South Africa’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Mr Gwede Mantashe gazetted amendments to the Electricity Regulations on New Generation Capacity, 2011, in terms of the Electricity Regulation Act, 2006, providing scope for municipalities to develop their own power generation projects, subject to certain requirements.