During the month of April, Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) hosted two presidential webinars, which featured distinguished speakers representing stakeholders. The first event – the CESA North West Presidential Webinar – was held on Friday, 14 April and speakers at the webinar included South Africa Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) provincial manager, Osmond Mngomezulu; CESA North West Branch chairperson, Booi Dandashe; North West Development Corporation (NWDC) acting projects executive, Moagi Mahapa; and CESA president Sugen Pillay.

The welcome and introduction was provided by the event’s facilitator CESA CEO Chris Campbell. The first speaker was Dandashe, who discussed ‘The role of engineers and engineering – infrastructure creation and service delivery in the North West’. He questioned government departments for not spending their budget allocations and questioned the availability of engineers. “What we have picked up in the North West is that access to clients is difficult. There is also a lack of proper project planning. We rush through the process because the appointment of engineers occurs at a late stage of the project,” stated Dandashe. He also stated that the lack of integrity and ethics affects the quality of the projects in the North West province. “As engineers we can reclaim our role”.

Mahapa’s presentation touched on the role of infrastructure stakeholders in the implementation of North West’s strategic economic infrastructure. He stated that a time-honoured way of providing an immediate life to economies is to fund infrastructure. “Spending on infrastructure boosts economic prospects in the medium and long-term through much-needed improvements to facilities and connectivity," he stated. Mahapa also spoke about the need to setup an infrastructure fund. “There also needs to be collaboration between government entities and private companies. Infrastructure projects also need to be facilitated by the private sector".

In his discussion, Mngomezulu delved into the 'Status quo of North West’s Human Rights – service infrastructure'. He mentioned that there is a positive obligation for the state to provide basic services to communities. “We cannot look at municipalities in isolation. There should be checks and balances because the provincial government has an obligation to ensure municipalities are performing.”

The Eastern Cape Branches Presidential Webinar took place on Wednesday, 28 April. Speakers at the event included CESA Border Kei Branch chairperson, Preshaan Premlal; Gustin Esau, CESA Gqeberha Branch chairperson; Mlamli Mabulu, programme manager - project management unit at Amatola Water; and CESA president Sugen Pillay. CESA CEO Chris Campbell welcomed attendees and introduced speakers.

The first speaker was Esau, a registered professional engineer with more than 20 years’ experience in municipal services, road construction, embankment stabilization, bridge construction and rehabilitation. His discussion focused on 'Best practice procurement – engineering services,' where he spoke about some of the challenges being experienced with the current system. “Professional services are being commoditized, where we encounter a situation where one size fits all similar to shelf type commodity,” he stated.

Following up was Premlal, who is registered as a professional engineering technologist with over 10 years’ experience in civil and structural engineering design covering the entire project cycle. In his discussion, he focused on ‘Engineering skills pipeline – capacity’. “My passion is that we need to inspire the next generation. Let us bring the passion of engineering to schools and get learners excited about the profession. My driving point this afternoon is the need to bring prestige to the engineering realm,” stated Premlal.

Mabulu in his presentation touched on 'Engineering Eastern Cape Water Service Infrastructure’. He stated that Amatola Water pursues a vision of becoming the leader in providing bulk water services in the Eastern Cape. Touching on transformation, Mabulu said the sub-consulting services, EME and QSE are encouraged to be involved in design and not only focusing on construction monitoring. “Amatola Water emphasizes the importance of procuring of local service providers and throughout the Eastern Cape”.

In both webinars, CESA president Sugen Pillay reverted to his message for 2021 which is ‘Rebuilding with purpose’. He stated that we need to focus on people over profits. “If services are not delivered to our communities, we are going to witness uprisings and more service delivery protests,” stated Pillay. He also mentioned the need for great community involvement in infrastructure projects, which also require collaboration from all spheres resulting in a partnership to build state capacity.