Page 6 - index

CEOs Report

he long awaited roll-out of Government’s Infrastructure Plan post the 2010 World Cup did not materialise
to the extent anticipated which resulted in a year that was characterised by a rather muted construction
Teconomy. A positive aspect, however, was Government’s acceptance of the National Development Plan
as a long to medium term guiding light for integrated development in South Africa. In addition, some eighteen
Strategic Infrastructure Projects (SIP’s) were designated and an Infrastructure Bill was gazetted for comment
which foresaw the creation of a Presidential Co-ordinating Commission whose main purpose was to ensure
speedy delivery of specifically determined high priority projects. Government’s New Growth Path also fell far
short of its promise to deliver enhanced job creation mainly through the medium of the construction sector.
The rather pedestrian construction economy was also increasingly impacted by the global economic downturn.
However, the year also saw an increased focus on Africa as a major opportunity going forward, and this was
increasingly reflected by consulting firms shifting their attention across the border. What was also encouraging
as the year advanced was that construction activity was seen to increase both locally and across the continent
which foretold a more positive picture for the rest of the year. Perhaps the public sector’s infrastructure plan
was at last starting to materialise, particularly in respect of those projects which have a long lead time.
Another characteristic of the past year was an increase in mergers and acquisition activity within the consulting
sector, with large international companies either forming partnerships or acquiring local consulting engineering
firms. This matched the global trend and was probably a response to the downturn in the global construction
sector.

Significant energy was devoted to lobbying National
Treasury to review procurement legislation in respect of
construction services. In particular, our appeal was to
reinstate quality or functionality as a determinant alongside
price and empowerment when evaluating tenders. The
department was very sympathetic and a white paper
was published for comment, recognising this request. In
addition, there was a recommendation to create a separate
path for the procurement of infrastructure and with the
additional requirement that tender evaluation committees
should be adequately populated with experts in the field of
CESA Annual Review 2012 / 2013 Lefadi Makibinyane Treasury appeared to be reneging on their commitment
construction procurement. Having said this, there was a
concern towards the middle of the year that the National

to our request. Whilst on the subject of procurement,
it is important to mention that ECSA had undertaken
a significant revision of the guideline fee regime for
Consulting Engineers so as to make it less intrusive in
the market and more open to interpretation, thus allowing
market forces to prevail.
Chief Executive Officer

6