The Construction Sector Charter Council (CSCC) believes that, to transform the construction sector, reliable data is necessary to assess the progress of, and identify the barriers to, transformation and to determine strategies to resolve these.

Speaking at national building organisation Master Builders South Africa’s (MBSA’s) Con- gress 2013 last month, CSCC chairperson Fikile Fongoqa noted that the council was conducing a baseline study to establish the state ofempowerment and progress in effecting transformation since the Construction Sector Code (CSC) was gazetted in June 2009.

The CSCC mentioned that its objective was substantial change in racial and gender composition of the ownership, control and management of assets, the promotion of effective advancement of employment equity and developing quantitative measurement tools for monitoring the progress of broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE).

The objective was also based on accelerating the advancement of skills development for black people in general, black women and the disabled, increasing procurement opportunities for black-owned companies, enhancing entrepreneurial development and promoting sustainable growth for small, medium-sized and microenterprises.

“The credible data from the study will also enable the establishment of factual and substantive reporting to the departments of Public Works and Trade and Industry, as well as to the BBBEE Advisory Council; [the data] will also provide feedback for the [construction] industry,” Fongoqa said at the congress.

He explained that the CSCC was entrusted with overseeing and monitoring the implementation of the Construction Codes of Good Practice and had a mandate to act with executive capacity and provide the necessary links to relevant government institutions.

“The primary role of the MBSA remains to promote the viewpoints and interests of the indus- try and the highest quality and standards within the building industry, and to engage government and legislative bodies on national policies and regulations that affect the industry, thereby creating a sustainable building industry in South Africa,” noted MBSA outgoing president Dannie Hattingh at the congress last month.

He added that the MBSA also provided a range of services for its members, which included training needs, legal services, labour relations, building codes and standards, and economics [related to] the building industry,”

Hattingh pointed out that the industry had noted a slight but gradual recovery in 2013, which had contributed to industry confidence and growth. The year under review was predicted by economists to be the year of recovery from the slowdown that followed the world financial crisis. However, it had not been plain sailing for contractors, as the key to recovery was charac-terised by a moderate rise in building activity and profitability.