Sparks Electrical News January 2015

contractors’ corner 5

ECA News by Mark Mfikoe, national director of the Electrical Contractors’ Association of South Africa The ECA(SA) will be rising to new heights in 2015

New strategy At the ECA(SA)’s recent national executive com- mittee meeting held in November 2014, it was decided that a strategic conference would be held early in 2015, which I find very exciting. At this conference we will shape the strategic direc- tion of the Association, not only in terms of its role here on home ground, but the role it can play north of our border as we look to expanding into the African continent. Victor Kgomoeswane, the author of the book,

‘ Africa is open for business’ and who was the guest speaker at the ECA(SA) Presidential Excellence Awards, issued a friendly warning, which is worth repeating.“If your focus does not include expan- sion into Africa, you will perish!” The new year As we begin 2015, I wish every person or busi- ness associated with the ECA(SA) all the very best! May you build strong and sustainable part- nerships where everyone wins. Be courageous and aimhigh. Enjoy the challenge!

ship with all our sponsors. I hope that still more ties will be established with other businesses andmajor role players in the industry over the course of 2015 with a view to further strengthen- ing relations between them and our members, who are the primary users of their products. Be their businesses big or small, it is a fact that our members contribute immensely to the continued growth of suppliers; and I look forward to a time that the ECA(SA) will become an integral part of their commercial strategies.

THE ECA(SA) closed off 2014 with its Presidential Excellence Awards at the Ruimsig Country Club. It was the kind of celebration that I cherish with all my being. Congratulations to the winners and grateful thanks to the sponsors of the awards for buying into the concept of rewarding the top achievers in the electrical industry – may it continue for many years. I would like to encourage this year’s winners – and indeed all the entrants – to go all-out in 2015 and embrace the wisdom expressed in this quotation by Charles Schultz:“Life is like a ten-speed bike. Most of us have gears we never use.” Training 2015 And talking about gears, the ECA(SA) will take teaching and training up a gear in 2015. There is a Chinese proverb:“If you plan for one year, plant rice. If you plan for ten years, plant trees. If you plan for 100 years, educate mankind”. With this inmind, the ECA(SA) will offer our members an enriched training experi- ence as we climb new heights in training in our partnership with the Construction Seta. Calli Pieterse, our most recent‘Life Membership Award’winner, challengedme to revive the Electrical Contracting Manage- ment Diploma; and, when I am challenged to achieve, it not a good idea to bet against me! For some time, Calli has been calling for this diploma course to be improved and re- vived. It was at the funeral of the late James Baker – a former national director of the ECA(SA) – that Calli brought up the subject again. He said James Baker’s passingmeant that he was the last one alive of all the people who had pioneered the introduction of this diploma course to benefit electrical contracting business owners. To throw in another quote, Don Marquis said that“procrastination is the art of keep- ing up with yesterday”, which reminds us that the time to deliver is now. So this is why we must prepare now and work towards this goal in the new year. There are highly skilled and experienced leaders in this industry but they won’t be around forever and, at some point, they would have to be replaced. Which is why the ECA(SA) must wise up to the fact that“the best time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining”…another quote, this time from John F Kennedy. Sponsorship The ECA(SA) is grateful to Crabtree, Heller- mannTyton, Brother SA and Major Tech for their continued sponsorship. I look forward to a long andmutually beneficial relation-

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january 2015

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