T Didiza: Inauguration of new members of CBE Council

11 August 2006

The new Chairperson of the Council, Mr Sipho Madonsela,
The Deputy Chairperson, Professor Gwen Breedlove,
The Chief Executive Officer of the Council, Dr Malindi Neluheni,
All the new and outgoing members of the council,
The Acting Director-General of Public Works, Dr Sean Phillips,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

The appointment of new members of the Council for the Built Environment
marks a milestone in the history of the council. Like any milestone, it does
not mean the end of the road. Rather it signifies the end of one stretch and
the beginning of another. It represents an opportunity for us to take stock of
the achievements, challenges and lessons learnt in the first term and
incorporate these experiences into the body of knowledge as we sail into the
future.

The process towards establishing the CBE started in 1994 when the Built
Environment Forum (BEF) was appointed to review the regulation of the
professions actively involved within the built environment in order to
establish proper co-ordination between the professions in respect of national
development priorities and bring consistency in the execution of core functions
of different councils. This work laid the basis for the legislation which saw
the CBE established through an Act of parliament at the end of year 2000 with
the explicit purpose to, among others:

* promote and protect the interests of the public in the built
environment
* promote and maintain a sustainable built environment and natural
environment
* promote ongoing human resource development in the built environment
* ensure the uniform application of norms and guidelines set by the councils
for the professions throughout the built environment.

However, the first term of the CBE could only commence in 2002 when all the
six councils comprising the CBE had been established. These six councils
represent the following professions: architecture, engineering, landscape
architecture, quantity surveying, property valuation as well as project and
construction management.

Although section 10.(1) (a) of the CBE Act requires that the Minister must
within 30 days of the appointment of the council, determine the time and place
of the first meeting, the new CBE council was appointed in May 2006 amidst the
disruption to our schedules brought about by the death of the late Minister
Stella Sigcau. Today marks the first such meeting.

I believe that the newly appointed members collectively represent the
necessary leadership capability, expertise and knowledge in the built
environment while maintaining a reasonable balance in terms of competence,
race, gender and geographical composition. This is imperative as they assume
the important role in this second term of office with attention required in the
areas of provision of strategic direction in the built environment, addressing
the issues of transformation and skills development while strengthening good
corporate governance including the signing of the Chief Executive Officer's
appointment letter and the finalisation of their annual performance
contract.

As the country emerges from the ruins of apartheid, South Africa is standing
on the edge of new challenges and the nation requires institutional
arrangements in the mould of the CBE which will harness the opportunities
available to promote the agenda of development, growth and transformation.
Apartheid and its myopic social and economic planning left the country a legacy
characterised by broken communities, poor quality and quantity of skills and
the workforce that was not representative of the demographics of the
country.

In response this government has embarked on poverty alleviation programmes
to reverse the ills of yester-years. Chief among them is the reconstruction of
existing as well as the development of new essential public infrastructure to
improve public service delivery. Consequently government has announced a robust
multi-billion rand infrastructure capital expenditure plan led by government
and state-owned entities. The professions falling under the CBE are integral to
this ambitious undertaking and unless the likes of the CBE begin to deliver on
their mandate, the country will be perpetually forced to look beyond our own
borders to find necessary skills and expertise.

Project and construction management, which is one of the professions
regulated by the CBE, has been singled out by President Thabo Mbeki in his
efforts to internationalise the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills
Acquisition (JIPSA). Countries such as the United Kingdom (UK), Japan and India
have been targeted to co-operate with South Africa to transfer requisite
skills. According to the President, an audit of skills has been done and "we
have identified a very urgent matter which is a global problem - a shortage of
project managers. You need those people and that kind of skill with experience
to make sure that these ambitious projects happen".

This was confirmed by the Minister of Public Service and Administration,
Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, following an agreement signed between South Africa
and India on recruiting especially local government professionals to work on
contract in South Africa. She remarked that "we are not looking at recruiting
large numbers of people. We are looking for professionals in particular
areas".

The same can be said about the property valuation profession. If government
wants to unlock the value of its fixed asset portfolio as per its newly drawn
fixed asset management strategic business plan, the government through the
Department of Public Works needs to undertake proper valuations of this
portfolio. In the past the paucity of qualified property valuers has delayed
even the successful completion of the asset register.

Interventions by government such as the Infrastructure Development
Improvement Programme (IDIP) aimed at improving the ability of the public
sector to successfully plan for and expediently execute large multi-million
rand projects in support of public service delivery will require a healthy
built environment nourished by the CBE.

The Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) is
explicit in its wish to rein in civil society in working with government to
find lasting solutions to economic growth, skills development and employment
creation. The CBE Act under the functions, powers and duties of the council
echoes this sentiment of AsgiSA and calls on the CBE to "advise government on
any matter falling within the scope of the built environment including resource
utilisation, socio-economic development, public health and safety and the
environment".

In the last week we celebrated two important events, namely the successful
conclusion to our maiden National Construction Week Campaign and the 50th
anniversary of the historic women's march in 1956. I want to recognise the
contribution played by the CBE in promoting the Construction Week and finding
time to highlight the activities of the council. I also want to thank those
professionals who took time to share the intricacies of their professional
lives with ordinary South Africans, particularly our youth. Unknown to you, you
could have planted a seed in the minds of these youth which will germinate into
a decision to follow a career in one of these disciplines and thereby
contribute to the aspirations of JIPSA and AsgiSA.

The council needs to strengthen its marketing efforts to demystify its
professions to women. We need to remove cultural barriers, many of which are
man-made, to the successful participation of women in the built environment
professions both at the technical and management levels.

I want to congratulate the old council members for successfully handing over
the baton. Yours was a path finding experience and I believe that the lessons
learnt and experiences gained will continuously be invested in the CBE to
improve and strengthen its value chain. To the new members, I say your job is
cut out for you and you have the responsibility to make the CBE relevant to the
socio-economic transformation agenda of the country. We shall continue to give
you our support in exchange for your valuable contribution to the mandate you
are today accepting. I wish you all well and good luck.

Issued by: Department of Public Works
11 August 2006