J Thibedi: Property Valuers Profession Conference

8 October 2007

Programme Director
Executive Mayor of Madibeng, Councillor Sophie Molokoane
SACPVP President
Soyisile Mokweni
SACPVP Registrar
Council Members of the SACPVP
Representatives from the Council for the Built Environment
Representatives from the ABB, our sponsors for the conference
Delegates
Ladies and gentlemen

Warm greetings to all of you this evening. It is indeed a great pleasure and
honour for me to address this important gathering which represents a festival
of ideas. The South African Council for the Property Valuers Profession
(SACPVP) is a statutory body established in terms of the Property Valuers
Profession Act of 2000. The vision is to create a transformed Property Valuers
Profession that delivers world-class valuation services.

It is a council that is central to South Africa's Accelerated and Shared
Growth Initiative (AsgiSA) and more specifically to the Joint Initiative for
Priority Skills Acquisition (Jipsa). This as you are all aware is led by
government, organized labour and business to identify the country's solutions
to skills shortages in the critical areas of the economy in order to meet
AsgiSA) goals.

Among others, the council's objectives are the registration of property
valuers and protection of the public from harmful practices within the valuers'
profession and striving to promote high standards of the competency of
professionals and to promote access to the profession. The growth of the
construction industry is driven by probably the largest public investment in
the infrastructure our country has ever seen. Specifically, in order to create
the infrastructure for growth, government is increasing capital budget at an
unprecedented rate of ten to fifteen percent (15%) per annum.

This growth path is not possible without concerted efforts of ensuring the
capability of the professions like yours that lead the industry in our country
in the conception, implementation and long-term operation of our
infrastructure. This challenge calls for your council to be innovative in
regulating the development of our professionals. The SACPVP is also responsible
for:

* registration of professional valuers
* maintenance of their integrity
* enhancement of their status
* improvement of their academic and other qualifications and of the standard of
services rendered by them

But above all, protection of members of the public in their dealings with
registered persons and drawing up and keeping up to date of a register of all
registered persons. The regulation of the professionals refers to those
mechanisms used to protect the public interest, identify and recognize the
competency levels of members of the profession, to ensure acceptable
educational standards and standards of practice in the profession, furthermore,
to control the conduct of members of the profession.

Programme Director,

It is encouraging to learn that SACPVP is serious about protecting the
public against registered persons who allegedly transgress its code of
professional conduct. As the public becomes aware of its rights, Ladies and
gentlemen, professionals are being reported to the council for not adhering to
the said code. Although the exercise of bringing these transgressors to book is
often said to be increasingly expensive, it is more important that the task of
disciplining violators is carried out.

An appeal is hereby made, Programme Director that the professionals also
become the eyes and ears of the council so as to root out any wrong doing by
their fellow colleagues. The council in turn should ensure that justice is
upheld and speedily so. This is one of the ways to protect the democracy of our
country so that all enjoy the protection of the law. Currently there are 13
cases of improper conduct that are being investigated buy the council.

These range from persons practicing in categories they are not registers for
to valuation reports that are not duly countersigned by mentors. SACPVP must
ensure that access to this profession is encouraged. This requires the
professional council a high level of proactive engagement to ensure that
professional registration is valued and the candidates are supported to achieve
their required competencies a different qualification levels.

Ladies and gentlemen and distinguished guests
,it is important that the work and responsibilities are identified and clearly
demarcated for different categories of registration, there is still much to be
done in this regard. I am happy to announce that the Construction Built
Environment (CBE) is currently developing a framework within which the SACPVP
should work to identify the different responsibilities within each category of
registration. It is pleasing that we begun to make progress in addressing a
number of issues relating to the skills pipeline.

Based on studies undertaken by the CBE, Construction Industry Development
Board (CIDB), and Jipsa, a number of concrete interventions are in progress to
address some of the constraints to development of built environment
professions. We have recognised that these constraints stretch over the entire
skills pipeline, including:

* suitable matriculation graduates
* the capacity of our tertiary institution
* the experiential training required to achieve competent professional practice
and registration
* the role of continuous professional development to enhance the skills of the
professionals.

Interventions to address these issues involve government, the professions,
industry and institutions of higher learning. Increasing cooperation is
evident. SACPVP has an important role to play in fostering these interventions
and promoting greater cooperation to achieve more rapid impact across the
country. With regard to the capacity of tertiary institutions, we are informed
that the council has done accreditation visits to such institutions in order to
ensure supply of quality education.

The council has recently concluded accreditation visits to seven tertiary
institutions that offer property valuation qualification. The qualifications
range from National Diplomas to Bachelor of Degrees and Masters Degrees.

Programme Director,

South Africa's Built Environment professionals are internally recognised and
globally sought after. We must however, ask ourselves whether we are doing
enough in terms of education and professional registration to instil in our
professions ethos of nation pride and services to a developmental state. At the
same time professional councils must also ensure a concerted focus to achieve
more rapid transformation in terms of the demographics. SACPVP is still lacking
behind with regards to registration of professional black valuers.

Out of about 1 300 valuers only 42 are Africans, 30 are Indians and 27 are
coloured. In other words about 1 200 registered valuers are all white. Your
council has a challenge to speed up and address the registration of the
previously disadvantaged race groups. The challenge is the number of women we
will see at tomorrow's breakfast, which is dedicated to women in the
profession. You do not have to take off your shoes to count the total number of
African women professional valuers in the whole of South Africa.
They account for only ten percent of their white counterparts. This is a
burning platform for the profession.

Professional regulation is about governance of the professions and a
commitment to the highest standards of ethic. It is therefore important that
the institutions that regulate professional exemplify these standards of
governance. I have no doubt that this conference will reflect on these and
other issues. Government recognises the professional councils as a national
asset in the development tasks ahead.

May the best ideas emerge from this festival of ideas which will help form a
foundation that would assist us as government to achieve our mandate.

I thank you

Issued by: Department of Public Works, North West Provincial
Government
8 October 2007
Source: North West Provincial Government (http://www.nwpg.gov.za)