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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
APRIL
2017
6
MARKETPLACE
Government has consistently invested
more than 7% of GDP annually on
infrastructure development over the past
eight years, and promises of injections of
trillions of rands into future infrastructure
initiatives – all to realise the objectives set
out in South Africa’s National Infrastructure
Plan (2012), together with the New Growth
Path (2010) that promised to create five
million jobs in 10 years, the National
Development Plan and other initiatives.
This clearly indicates that the ANC-
led administration has embarked on an
infrastructure development plan for the
overall socio-economic development
strategy of South Africa. In doing so, the
prospect for racial and radical economic
transformation remains opportune.
How then has the sector been performing
until now? The data shows steady growth
in the number of black built environment
practitioners in South Africa.
Engineering Council of South Africa
(ECSA)
Data from ECSA, the organisation entrusted
with protecting the health and safety
of the public by registering engineering
professionals, shows that the number
or registrants of black engineering
practitioners increased from 35% to 46%
in all categories from 2011 to March 2016,
compared to a drop from 65% to 54% for
White practitioners in the same period.
In that time, 9 194 black professionals
registered with ECSA, compared to 2 225
white professionals.
It is well-known in the industry that ECSA
and its CEO, Sipho Madonsela, a registered
engineer himself, are positive about the
level of transformation over the past years,
and especially among the young people,
including females, from disadvantaged
backgrounds — as seen in the figures above.
These include engineers, technologists and
technicians. Madonsela also reported that
in 2016, for the first time in the history of
ECSA, the number of registered engineering
practitioners reached more than 50 000.
ECSA can be proud of the visible effects of
registration seen in
the industry.
South African Council for the Project
and Construction Management
Professions (SACPCMP)
The SACPCMP registered 1 264 black
construction project management
professionals since 2008. Of the total
number registered in 2008 (3 276) only 26%
(841) were black and 74% (2 435) white.
These figures in 2016 (4 364), however, show
a significant increase to 48% (2105) for
black and decrease to 52% (2 259) for white.
South African Council for the
Quantity Surveying Profession
(SACQSP)
The SACQSP registered 939 black quantity
surveying professionals since 2011. Of the
total number registered in 2011 (3 049), 39%
(1 193) were black and 61% (1 856) white.
These figures in 2016 (3 982), however,
show a significant increase to 54% (2 132)
for black and a decrease to 46% (1 850)
for white.
South African Council for the
Architectural Profession (SACAP)
The SACAP registered 2 400 black and 3 600
Transformation in the built environment –
IN BLACK & WHITE
It is a misnomer that racial and related economic transformation in the
civil engineering and construction sector is not happening.
The numbers tell a different story.
By South African Institution of Civil Engineering
white architectural professionals between
2012 and March 2016. There is a general
decrease in the number of both black and
white registrants at SACAP from 2014 to
March 2015. This is probably due to the
lack of architectural project roll-out from the
public sector.
The gap difference between the race
groups, however, has narrowed over the past
five years, with 266 black and 332 white
professionals registering in 2016.
The South African Institution of Civil
Engineering (SAICE)
With some 13 000 members, it is the largest
engineering voluntary association in South
Africa. SAICE CEO, Manglin Pillay, another
professionally registered engineer, states
that more than 45% of SAICE’s membership
is black. Taking into account South Africa’s
history before 1994, Pillay explains, “A
more accurate measure of transformation
is found in that almost 70% of SAICE’s
membership under the age of 36 is black.”
Pillay commends the public sector for
driving the transformation agenda through
policy. He also divulges, “The irony of
Government’s plea for transformation in
the sector is that most Black engineering
graduates are employed in municipalities,
national and provincial government and in
state-owned enterprises.
“But it is in the public sector that
coaching, mentoring and technical
engineering supervision – which are
critical components for the training and
development of engineers – are lacking.”
Many local and district municipalities
only have junior staff, few of them
adequately developed. Many of these
are indeed classified as struggling
municipalities. As Pillay says, “This is the
real challenge. It is not about black and
white any longer, it is all about experience
and inexperience.”
Pillay comments further, “The sector has