https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Concrete industry urged to stand together to lobby government

17th August 2018

By: Marleny Arnoldi

Deputy Editor Online

     

Font size: - +

AfriSam sales and marketing executive Richard Tomes has urged the concrete industry to seriously consider consolidation and collaboration amid a tough operating environment.

“Often the private sector is critical about government when we are confronted with the challenges of our industry; however, industry bodies such as the South African Ready Mix Association (Sarma), which communicate with policymakers, struggle to get members to sign up,” he noted during a keynote address at the recent Concrete Conference.

Industry members did not want to fund these bodies, he said, but pointed out that the Concrete Manufacturing Association, for example, worked to lobby government on issues such as the Carbon Tax and the Air Pollution Act.

The Concrete Institute, meanwhile, supports research and education to the tune of more than R3-million a year.

Tomes noted the steel industry had made great strides in lobbying government around tariffs and ensuring that the industry was competitive.

“[The concrete industry is] not even able to talk about cement dumping that happens on our coast, or agree on whether government should impose tariffs at our ports. We do not speak with one voice.”

He added that it was necessary to lobby government on infrastructure spend, which had proved to be challenging in the concrete industry.

Moreover, Tomes warned that, if the industry did not get its act together, infrastructure could collapse, as had happened in the Sedibeng municipality, where sewerage infrastructure had given way.

The perception was often that South Africa was a sophisticated country and that these things did not happen here, but they were happening, he said.

A strong industry body that could engage government could assist in this matter to ensure sustainable infrastructure and upkeep in South Africa, since municipalities also had responsibilities around infrastructure issues, he added.

AfriSam is the only registered concrete-industry member of Sarma, which Tomes said was not sustainable as it did not create concrete possibilities.

PwC economist Dr Roelof Botha told delegates at the conference of the challenges threatening the wellbeing of the construction and concrete industries.

Government’s plans to amend Section 25 of the Constitution, which deals with land expropriation without compensation, has the potential to negatively impact on foreign direct investment and, therefore, the construction and infrastructure sectors in South Africa as well.

“Policymakers need to speak to the private sector, especially members in the construction and concrete industries, as the country needs rebuilding to create jobs and ultimately alleviate poverty,” said Botha.

He explained that, if land reform went ahead, it could threaten food security, and not only for South Africa, since it exported on average R126-billion of agricultural products a year to other African countries.

A South African Institute of Race Relations Association survey conducted on 50 000 participants from South Africa and 35 other African countries found that only 1% of participants regarded land reform as a policy priority of government.

The most important issues recorded in the survey were around unemployment, health, schooling, roads, water supply and electricity.

Botha said policymakers were not giving attention to people’s needs in terms of the land reform issue, and the construction industry would suffer as a result, when fewer projects could find investment, owing to property ownership uncertainties.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

Showroom

Schauenburg SmartMine IoT
Schauenburg SmartMine IoT

SmartMine IoT has been developed with the mining industry in mind, to provides our customers with powerful business intelligence and data modelling...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Condra Cranes
Condra Cranes

ISO-certified Condra manufactures overhead cranes, portal cranes, cantilever cranes and crane components: hoists, drives, end-carriages, brakes and...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.076 0.132s - 137pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now