Consulting Engineers South Africa’s (CESA) is calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa in his upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA) to deal with the slow pace of change in addressing both policy and political uncertainty in the country.

“Further delays in the implementation of infrastructure projects serves only to decimate our already struggling construction sector,” states Chris Campbell, CEO of CESA.

While acknowledging the larger issues that the country currently faces, CESA as the key role player in the Infrastructure Development process is calling on Government  as a short to medium term measure, to utilize the capacity that exists within the private sector to, firstly, capacitate the state, and also to mentor some of the young engineers that are currently employed in the state. The Owner’s Engineer concept needs to be embraced as a short-term intervention, as well as secondments from the private sector, to boost public sector capacity. CESA’s members are also willing to volunteer some of their services, within a structured framework, to unlock project opportunities.

“Let’s make South Africa one big construction site again in order to kickstart the economic growth that will lead to job creation and investment, “says President of CESA, Sugen Pillay

While CESA welcomes the establishment of the Infrastructure and Investment Office and is pleased to see that it resides within the Presidency. CESA has long been calling for an Engineer General to oversee major infrastructure development in the country and believes that this office will become the de-facto Engineer General in the country.

CESA is also cautiously optimistic that the Infrastructure Fund that will be housed within the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) will also start to gear into action, so that funding for project preparation can be unlocked.