Construction World April 2022

market – had been the weakest sector of the economy over the past decade and now accounted for just 2,5% of GDP. This was due to gross capital formation in South Africa having declined, as a percentage of GDP, from 19% around 2014 to the current 13%. Concluding his presentation on a positive note, Jammine said the construction industry could receive a big boost from an increase in infrastructural spending. He noted that 51 well-defined projects worth R340bn had been identified in the 2020 Economic Recovery and Construction Plan and that the project pipeline has since been expanded to include an additional 55 projects worth R595bn. This amounted to a grand total of R935bn representing 126% of total annual fixed investment. He said that if all – or even just some – of these projects were implemented it would be a game changer for the industry and a major boost to the economy, with growth increasing by as much as 2% a year. 

US Fed had injected as massive stimulus recovery package of around five trillion dollars into the economy – to counter the economic effects of COVID – and that other countries had followed suit. The result was sharp upward pressure on prices. “The genie is now out of the bottle in the form of a massive surge in inflation the likes of which we have not seen in 40 years in the world economy,” he observed. He added that South Africa’s inflation rate was below that of the US for the first time in 30 years. Referring specifically to South Africa’s budget, Jammine said SARS had collected R182bn more in taxes than anticipated, with this economic windfall giving Minister Godongwana considerable leeway in formulating the budget. He pointed out that the windfall was largely due to increased payments by the mining industry as a result of mining companies having benefitted from the current surge in commodity prices. Turning to some of the specifics of the South African economy, Jammine said construction – AfriSam’s primary

CONFIRMED SHOWS: A-OSH EXPO, SECUREX, FACILITIES MANAGEMENT EXPO AND FIREXPO

S pecialised Exhibitions, the largest trade show organiser in Southern Africa, is pleased to announce that its A-OSH Expo, Securex South Africa and Facilities Management exhibitions are confirmed to go ahead for 2022, with the exciting addition of Firexpo to the Securex show. The four trade shows will take place from 31 May to 2 June 2022 at Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg. Says Mark Anderson, portfolio director at Specialised Exhibitions: “The current rules around larger gatherings of people have allowed for the cautious reopening of the local business tourism sector, specifically relating to meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (Mice). “These new regulations, as well as the success of our Restart Expo, which successfully demonstrated that it is possible to hold organised gatherings in a controlled, safe way, have made it possible for us to go ahead with exhibitions planned for 2022.” Securex will celebrate its 28 th year of existence, with its continued focus on all elements of the security sector – from physical and retail security to access control, vehicle and personnel tracking, cybersecurity and more. “An exciting new development for Securex is the addition of Firexpo section, which will focus exclusively on fire-related products and services,” Anderson explains. “A-OSH will be in its 10th repetition and will once again

and services under one roof, qual ity content across our three seminar theatres, for Securex, A-OSH and Facil ities Management Expo, and exceptional networking opportunities,” he adds. “Interest from exhibitors across the four expos has been high, but there is still some space available for those organisations looking to engage directly with potential cl ients and boost brand awareness.” 

focus in on all things occupational health and safety related, while Facilities Management Expo – our facilities and properties management community - commemorates its second year as a co-located trade show. “We’re expecting to see thousands of visitors attending the free-of- charge events over the three-day period, with the draw cards of seeing the latest industry products

7 CONSTRUCTION WORLD APRIL 2022