Construction World May 2019

Less money being spent on infrastructure has led to a skills exodus, loss of jobs and capacity. At this stage there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

COMMENT

The South African Forum for Civil Engineering Contractors says the local construction industry is in a state of accelerated decline. It has joined various bodies calling on Government to urgently intervene. Even though the building sector (mainly the private sector) has been hard hit, conditions in the civils industry have now reached crisis proportions.

As if the lack of new contracts for infrastructure is not damaging enough and has led to the constant decline of the industry over the past decade, the rise of the construction mafia at various construction sites has now accelerated this decline. From an infrastructure spend point of view, there was a 12% nominal decline in budget between the 2017/2018 and 2018/19 government financial year. The construction industry has always been a major investor in capital expenditure and skills development in South Africa – apart from being the biggest employer in the country. The dwindling construction industry is threatening tens of thousands of jobs in a country with an unemployment rate of massive proportions – more than 27% at the last count. Group Five recently joined a string of construction companies to apply for business rescue. This is the biggest construction company yet to go this route and has highlighted what is at stake: thousands of jobs, and the loss of capacity and skills. The loss of capacity in the construction sector will take years to recover. The country will now increasingly

have to rely on foreign contractors – such as those from China – to build infrastructure. From a skills perspective, the industry is experiencing its worst brain drain ever as many skilled engineers and technical staff are leaving the country as there is simply no work for them locally. To add insult to injury, this process has been accelerated with the increasing violent environment brought on by the so-called construction mafia. Initially KwaZulu-Natal was the focus of various mafia-like activities on construction sites, but this has spread throughout the country. In essence, the violence emanates from the desire of the surrounding communities to gain economically from the projects in their area. Violence is being used to get what is wanted, so one has to ask the question ‘What will stop them now?’. There is a belief that South African construction has entered a mafia zone. Call for entries Against this gloomy background, we publish the first call for entries for our 2019 Best Projects Awards. These awards have, for the past 17 years,

recognised excellence in the construction world. Independently judged, the awards celebrate contributions to the construction industry in the civil engineering, building, specialised contracting, consulting engineering, and architectural spheres. When the construction industry’s activity peaked after the projects for the World Cup in 2010, it attracted 72 entries. Even though the industry has been in a steady decline since then, the number of projects entered never dipped below the 50 mark – a clear indication that these awards are regarded as positive in a sometimes negative industry. I trust this year will be no different and that, come 6 November, we will celebrate the many excellent projects still happening in South Africa.

Wilhem du Plessis Editor

B E S T P R O J E C T S

2019

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EDITOR & DEPUTY PUBLISHER Wilhelm du Plessis constr@crown.co.za ADVERTISING MANAGER Erna Oosthuizen ernao@crown.co.za LAYOUT & GRAPHIC ARTIST Katlego Montsho CIRCULATION Karen Smith

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD MAY 2019