Strategic leadership is needed to ensure cooperation among the various stakeholders responsible for delivering the National Development Plan (NDP), which aims to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030, says consulting engineering firm GIBB group business development executive Muzi Siyaya.

“The strategic leadership role is one that government should take up in terms of pulling all the stakeholders together and defining each of their roles in delivering the NDP. It is a good plan, but it is also ambitious and, as such, requires involvement from the private sector, nongovernmental organisations, the citizens of South Africa and government,” he states.

He notes that the multistakeholder approach is key to the NDP’s success, but the lack of strategic leadership causes tension between the public and private sectors. “If government can successfully perform this role, a platform will be created to lead all stakeholders in the same direction, which will accelerate the delivery of the NDP.

“I believe this tension will then be sufficiently addressed – it has been done before, as the NDP itself is a product of private–public sector collaboration,” Siyaya notes.

He highlights that one of the key interventions addressed by the NDP is education, as it is the cornerstone of the development of South Africa’s economy.

Siyaya suggests an increased focus on the skills development of teachers, particularly those teaching mathematics and science, at primary and secondary schools level. “Young children need guidance and those who are showing a keen interest in mathematics and science need to be nurtured by passionate teachers who can create an environment where talented children are encouraged to pursue careers that require mathematics and science skills, such as engineering.”

He adds that government alone cannot address the poor quality of mathematics and science education and, hence, there is a need for increased private-sector involvement. “The private sector can help with skills upliftment and the critical infrastructure shortages at schools.

“However, the extent to which the private sector is involved needs to be defined by government. The private sector, across all industries, has enhanced skills that can be useful for the public sector, but without collaboration, skills transfer and the exchange of knowledge cannot take place,” Siyaya asserts.

He adds that the poor quality of mathematics and science education in primary and secondary schools impacts on the tertiary education decisions young South Africans make, which, in turn, affects the consulting engineering sector, as fewer students are pursuing careers in engineering.

“The problem is exacerbated by the limited pool of skilled engineers migrating in droves to, for example, the financial sector,” Siyaya says.

Trends
Siyaya notes that consulting engineering firms are increasingly moving towards offering engineering, procurement and construction management services in addition to the traditional services of consulting engineers.

“Clients have limited capacity to perform the full scope of a project and the bigger the project, the more complex managing it becomes. Typically, consulting engineering firms will only be involved with the front-end engineering and design stage, which often involves defining the scope of work that allows clients to tender.”

Siyaya adds that there is an increased need for construction supervision to ensure clients manage the various subcontractors involved in a construction project. “This is putting increased pressure on consulting engineering firms to invest in programmes and project management skills that will enable them to provide that one-stop-shop requirement for clients.

“Many of our own clients are asking us to help manage their projects. “This trend has resulted in consulting engineers’ business models evolving to include competent and focused programme, project and contracts management teams,” he explains.

Siyaya highlights the increased interest in Africa from traditionally strong economic regions, driven by Africa’s gross domestic product growth – which is averaging between 5% and 6% annually – and the infrastructure deficit on the continent. This has resulted in more multinational consulting engineering firms operating in South Africa.

He adds that this has resulted in an exchange of skills and South African companies improving the quality of their work to stay competitive.

“This has forced South African companies to place huge emphasis on technical excellence, innovation and doing more for less to remain competitive.

“Globalisation has driven the consulting engineering sector to evolve, which is positive for the sector, but local companies could simultaneously find themselves being pushed out of the game, owing to multinationals having significantly more resources at hand,” he concludes.