As the new CEO of Consulting Engineers South Africa (Cesa), Lefadi Makibinyane has made it his primary focus to ensure that the consulting engineering sector delivers quality service and that there is never doubt about the quality of work delivered by Cesa members.

He praised his predecessor Graham Pirie, who announced his retirement last month, for the work he had done over the past 17 years in building the organisation to what it is today and for striving to ensure the ethical behaviour and integrity of its members.

Makibinyane planned to strengthen those measures that had already been put in place.

He stressed the importance of consulting engineers engaging in ethical behaviour and conduct.

He stated that South Africans were up in arms about corruption and emphasised that it was important for Cesa’s members to understand that ethical and proper conduct was needed at all times, as “we are on service for others”, he told Engineering News Online.

“[We have to ensure that] the infrastructure we build is built with the integrity it deserves and that it can last and withstand the test of time. Government spends a lot of money on infrastructure and it’s time to show the value of that type of infrastructure”.

He noted that while the consulting engineering sector was not directly involved in the collusive tendering practices that, last month, resulted in the Competition Commission fining 15 major construction firms a collective R1.46-billion, the sector was indirectly implicated.

“This shows that whatever efforts are there, need to be strengthened. We cannot allow this type of collusion and undue behaviour to continue. We have to ensure, one way or another, that we intensify talk [around ethical behaviour] and that we walk the talk through our members.

“Cesa-certified consulting engineering firms must be looked at favourably. We are making an effort to ensure that the service we offer is beyond reproach,” Makibinyane stated.

He pointed out that Cesa already had measures in place to punish members should they be involved in corruption or collusive practices.

Further, the organisation earlier this month also launched an anticorruption hotline, in collaboration with fraud specialist Moore Stephens South Africa Forensic Services division, to enable its members and members of the public to report suspected fraud, corruption and maladministration related to the awarding of tenders or contracts in the construction sector.

OTHER GOALS
Meanwhile, Makibinyane, who is the first black CEO of Cesa, will also aim to promote the benefits of engineers and consulting engineers seeking professional registration.

“Everyone must aspire to register as a professional engineer. If everybody practising is a professional engineer, then this country will really be going somewhere,” he said.

He planned to work closely with his colleagues at the Engineering Council of South Africa to promote the concept and benefits of registering as a professional engineer or technician.

Further, Makibinyane was also keen to ensure that the voice of local consulting engineers was heard in the global arena, stating that Cesa, which is a member of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (Fidic), would “make our input felt in the global arena”.

BACKGROUND
Makibinyane, who was raised on a farm in the Free State, says he has always been an ambitious person and that this has helped him develop into the engineer and businessperson he is today.

While he initially wanted to become a doctor, he later found himself drawn to a career in the engineering sector and, specifically, the chemical engineering sector.

After finishing his matric, he secured a scholarship to study at the Teesside University, in the UK, where he completed a BEng (Hons) in chemical engineering in 1991.

Thereafter, he was recruited by Anglo American to work as an engineer at Anglo Coal’s New Vaal colliery.

Over the next two decades, he worked at the Engen refinery in Durban, at Sasol Secunda, Nampak, South African Breweries, the Industrial Development Corporation and Fieldstone Africa, besides others.

Between early 2009 and May 2010, he managed his own consulting engineering firm, Maqhalwe Technical and Financial Services, before being appointed as the head of services infrastructure at the City of Tshwane. He held this position until earlier this year.

Makibinyane is a chartered engineer and also holds a MBL from the University of South Africa Graduate School of Business Leadership.