Industry body the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (Saice) has announced the appointment of Sekadi Phayane-Shakhane as its new CEO, effective July 1. 

With a seasoned professional career – including her roles as the MD of engineering company Refilwe Engineering Solutions and nonexecutive director at Limpopo provincial government entity Gateway Airports Authority – she brings a wealth of experience to her new role.

This comes from a remarkable career in transportation planning and engineering, coupled with her impressive academic qualifications, Saice states.  
 
“I am honoured and excited to take on the role of CEO at Saice,” Phayane-Shakhane remarks.

“My vision for the institution is to foster collaboration, innovation and inclusivity within the civil engineering community. Together, we can drive positive change, address societal challenges, and enhance the profession's impact on South Africa's development.”

Phayane-Shakhane holds a BSc (Eng) Civil Engineering and Master of Engineering in Transportation Studies from the University of Cape Town.

Saice says her leadership abilities shine through in her professional experience at organisations including consultants Ninham Shand, SMEC, WSP, GA Consulting Engineers and more.

“I firmly believe in writing your own future,” Phayane-Shakhane says.

“In the early journey of my professional career, one of the best pieces of advice I received from one of my managers who challenged me, was to ‘sink or swim’, and I chose to swim, taking on various opportunities to make a real difference as an engineer, and to prove my capabilities.”

Some highlights of her career include being recognised for exceptional contributions such as receiving the SMEC Young Professional of the Year award in 2013, highlighting her outstanding impact on the organisation.

Phayane-Shakhane believes her resilience and determination allowed her to excel and undertake innovative work in areas such as transport planning and engineering.

Her dedication to research and transport policy development was also acknowledged through the Charles V Wootan Award at the 2020 Transport Research Board conference in Washington DC, in the US.

With a career spanning over 20 years, Phayane-Shakhane has made significant contributions to the development of municipal infrastructure projects.

Her early experience in Bloemfontein, where she worked on eradicating the bucket system and improving water infrastructure in small towns across the Free State, laid the foundation for her commitment and passion to provide essential services to communities.

Her passion for sustainable transport solutions also allowed her to spearhead numerous projects advocating for safer streets for all, with an emphasis on the provision of quality public transport and non-motorised transport within South Africa.  

Empowering communities, and particularly the youth in those communities, remains part of Phayane-Shakhane’s vision.

“Saice is doing amazing work to develop and provide opportunities for young professionals, and I hope that I can also enhance the work of the organisation in this regard. The power of creativity from our next generation of young engineers, technologists and technicians is immeasurable and we need to drive all efforts to unlock it.

“Mentorship remains critical in enabling and fostering relationships between our seasoned and senior professionals and young professionals. This is a priority to ensure continuity in terms of service delivery within our country,” adds Phayane-Shakhane.

Making a difference through the development of sustainable infrastructure is critical for South Africa, she explains.

“I remain committed to making a difference in the lives of South Africans by working closely with members of Saice’s executive leadership, branches, divisions, panels, student chapters and national office by listening to the voices of our members and staff,” concludes Phayane-Shakhane, who is also the first female CEO to lead Saice in 120 years.

“With her exceptional leadership skills, commitment to excellence and visionary mindset, we believe Phayane-Shakhane is poised to lead Saice into a new era of growth and innovation and wish her the very best,” Saice president Steven Kaplan comments.