CESA Aon 2019

MESSAGE FROM CESA’S CEO

infrastructure is as important as investing in new infrastructure. If you spend more money on maintenance, you will need to spend less on recapitalisation,” Campbell maintains. Multinationals: threat or opportunity? Campbell says that South Africa is not an island. “We live in the global economy. We have had multinationals set up shop in the country for some time now. This is something we welcome as it is a good opportunity for local practitioners to get big project exposure and dispel the myth that South African engineers do not have sufficient experience to manage large projects. In addition, it offsets the lull in workload locally – rather than retrenching people they can often be redeployed elsewhere in the world – a double benefit.” Recognising excellence, despite industry challenges Despite challenges, there are still examples of excellence. Infrastructure

“Sadly,” says Campbell, “I still see elements of mistrust between Government and industry borne out of the 2010 collusion. So, in some instances the tarring with the same brush of contractors and consulting engineers is still the case. But it is borne out of a limited understanding of the distinction between contractors and consultants. Education needs to happen – but this will be a long journey.” ‘Doing more with less’ Campbell says the phrase means that the industry can be more efficient in how it goes about investment in infrastructure. “Originally about R800-billion was budgeted for infrastructure over a three year period. With the drain on the fiscus, lower tax collections and adjustments to the medium term expenditure frameworks these budgets were all adjusted downwards. Our need for the infrastructure has not changed, but the money available has. A smarter approach to the process will derive more efficiencies.” A recent South African Institution of Civil Engineering report gave the infrastructure in South Africa a D+. “That means that our infrastructure has not failed, but that is in nowhere near what it should be. Obviously maintenance is a big factor. An ongoing rigorous maintenance regime is necessary as maintenance of existing

is a long term investment and needs an informed and holistic approach. “Only in this way will we ensure that future generations are not saddled with the plague of early failure of infrastructure. Such infrastructure was created by the recipients of the CESA Aon Awards for Engineering Excellence. These projects also play a role in stimulating our economy,” concludes Campbell. z

5

CESA AON ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2019