The first quarter of 2019 has flown by, we started the year off with our President, Neresh Pather presenting his annual address to the media at a function held in Johannesburg entitled 'Reshaping our Future Together' - Doing what is Right ! We then had the State of the Nation Address from our country’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa 'Following up on our commitments – Making Your Future Work Better' which we fully support. This was followed by the Budget Speech in which we focused on promoting 'Value for Money' procurement, a theme that we will continue to focus on this year.

Our Infrastructure Indaba held at the ICC in Durban early in March was a resounding success with good attendance by both members and clients supported by our affiliates, sponsors and exhibitors.

It is certainly encouraging to be able to share with you the good news relating to Council for the Built Environment (CBE) taking the lead in getting the Identification of Work (IDoW) regulations finalized for promulgation before the year is out and also calling for the 6 Built Environment Councils to re-commence with publication of fee guidelines in accordance with their specific Acts.

I am pleased to report that CESA and the other voluntary associations are starting to re-ignite the relationship with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) and are now working more closely to achieve harmony in the profession.

Through various forums we are also exploring a greater appetite for relationships between Government and Business through our participation in Business Unity South Africa (BUSA).

The CESA Directorate had the pleasure of hosting a delegation from both FIDIC – the International Federation of Consulting Engineers as well as ACEZ – the Association of Consulting Engineers Zambia at our offices during March.  These visits allowed for the exchange of information strengthening relationships.

Our first CEO Forum for the year was well attended ensuring robust debate on a list of topics impacting the industry. I encourage you to make the time to attend these forums and if you are unable to do so we invite you to submit topics for future discussion. This is an open invitation to all CEO’s of our member companies yet it remains surprising that we never reach even a 10% participation level from a member base of 550 companies. Our next forum is scheduled for the 28th of June at 10:00, I look forward to seeing you there!

Chris Campbell
CESA CEO