Infrastructure crisis highlights urgent need for engineers to occupy ‘meaningful seat at table'
Amid a national maintenance “crisis” and slow delivery against government’s R1-trillion infrastructure commitment, Consulting Engineers South Africa (Cesa) believes it has now become urgent for engineers to occupy a “meaningful seat at the decision-making table”.
In an address to the media, Cesa president Dr Vishal Haripersad argued that engineers remained “vastly underrepresented on government boards, statutory bodies, and strategic advisory forums”.
The absence of engineering professionals on such structures, he added, raised serious questions about who was making decisions about infrastructure.
“Is it any surprise, then, that projects overrun, infrastructure fails, and public trust erodes?” he asked.
“This exclusion is not abstract. It has consequences, measured in unsafe bridges, roads, unreliable water systems, stalled projects, and billions lost to corruption.”
Haripersad also bemoaned the fact that engineers were generally consulted only after projects failed.
“Why do we call on engineers to fix collapsing systems, but exclude them when strategies, budgets, and priorities are set?”
The underrepresentation of engineers was not only evident in decaying infrastructure, and most notably recently in the failure of municipalities to provide households and businesses with a stable supply of water, but also in the way engineering services were being priced and procured.
“Too often, engineers are perceived, and perhaps we have started to perceive ourselves, not as visionaries, but as implementers or as a commodity to be procured at the lowest price,” he said, while also highlighting that many Cesa members were either not being paid on time or not being paid at all.
“Our nation, and indeed our profession, is at a crossroads.
“We must reclaim the role of our engineering expertise, and accountability in both the public and private sector space as the foundation of development.”
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest News
Showroom
AxFlow AQS Liquid Transfer (Pty) Ltd is an Importer and Distributor of Pumps in Southern Africa
VISIT SHOWROOM
ZF Aftermarket is the after-sales division of the world-renowned German ZF group, a global leader in mobility technology.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
