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Date : 09/10/2005
Source: North West Provincial Government
Title: Yawa: Construction Conference


  Speech by MEC for North West Public Works, Hon HD Yawa, at the welcoming cocktail and golf prize awarding function of the Construction Conference at Sun City

Programme Director
Leaders of business and organised professional bodies,
Representatives of government and state-owned enterprises,
Representatives of the Construction Industry Development Board,
Representatives of the Council for the Built Environment,
Representatives of the Construction Education and Training Authority,
Representatives of Labour,
Distinguished guests,
Conference delegates,
Members of the media,
Ladies and gentlemen

In his beautiful poem, "Dancing with Change", Ben Okri, the Booker Prize-winning, African genius, novelist and poet has captured both our natural resistance to change, as well as the rewards of embracing change. The metaphor for his vision is that of a dance of elegance and grace, our reaction to the rhythm of our world, its future and the constancy of change.

First, our tendency to resist "'Change is good, but no change is better' - It rang through the great hall as it has resounded silently through the ages. It rang past the faces of stern masters and poets and lords of learning, asleep in their hidden academies".

In contrast, Okri closes his poem with lyric praise of the value of change: "But the river flows, and so must we. Change is the happy god that Heraclitus saw in the golden river. Spread illumination through this darkening world; spread illumination through this darkening world. No change is good, but dancing gracefully with change is better."

Over the years consulting engineers and civil engineers have contributed immensely towards the development of the country's infrastructure. Through your professional services, you have also augmented the capacity and agility of project management in the public sector to deliver quality public infrastructure.

Over the years you have provided arteries and infrastructure hubs that fostered economic growth and development and make our economy Africa's the powerhouse economy.

According to recent statistics, the construction sector grew at an annualised 6.2% in the second quarter of this year, up from 5,1% in the first quarter. With interest at a 24-year low, government spending on infrastructure delivery improving and the construction sector as the likely biggest beneficiary in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup, we have reasons to celebrate.

This evening and for the next two days the construction industry gathered here under the auspices of the South African Association of Consulting Engineers and the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors will deliberate on the implementation of the Construction Charter and the scorecard to unlock the delivery potential of the construction industry.

The choice of the world's most unique resort, Africa's Kingdom of Pleasure as the venue for your conference is indeed in itself a celebration of architecture because I guess most of you would agree with me that there is so much harmony between nature and architecture here.

Programme Director, the construction industry is an important vehicle for the delivery of infrastructure and job creation. It is therefore not surprising that the Growth and Development Summit (GDS) has placed special responsibility on this sector to spearhead job creation and skills development so that our growing economy is increasingly accessible to all citizens and in the turn is injected with the vigour of expanding productive participation.

The GDS and subsequent Provincial Growth and Development Summits served as positive signals of the ability of South Africans to work together to meet our economic goals. The challenge remains for us to move forward together in unity to push back the frontiers of poverty, to expand access to a better life for all, to extricate millions of our people from the second economy which condemns them to poverty, underdevelopment, marginalisation and loss of human dignity.

Through the Charter process you have shown maturity that equals your professionalism. Led by the Construction Transformation Charter Group, your positive contribution and visionary leadership has laid the foundation for a transformative Charter.

As government, we count on the partnership of your organisations as we strive to actively promote a vibrant transformed and competitive construction sector that provides adequate services to the domestic economy. A transformed and competitive sector that reflects the South African nation as a whole and contributes to the establishment of an equitable society.

We hope that this conference will move beyond pledges and accelerate our offensive against economic exclusion and work towards an economy that benefits all. It should give impetus to the utilisation of resources at your disposal to initiate and contribute to Corporate Social Investment Projects that benefit previously disadvantaged groups, communities and individuals and that promote transformation and development.

As a sector you had a choice. You could have either slept in our "hidden academies" or danced gracefully with change. We are glad that you chose to dance gracefully towards empowerment and partnership for an economy that is integrated and sustainable.

Programme Director, there is a saying that goes like this, Business is golf and golf is business. You cannot have one without the other. I am told that the greatest golfers often apply tested business methods to their games, just as business leaders seek to learn secrets to success from the greatest golfers. For an example they play conservative.

The most important key to both, of course, is endurance. To have endurance in business or golf career, it takes a willingness to change your game or the way you work. We congratulate those that did well on the fairways this afternoon and trust that all participants had an exciting and challenging golfing experience on the par-72 championship golf course.

I am highly honoured on behalf of the North West Department of Public Works, the provincial stakeholders in the construction sector, the government and the people of the heritage destination of South Africa to welcome all of you to the Platinum Province.

In conclusion, we wish you a successful conference and hope that it will be characterised by out-of-the box thinking for a win-win outcome for both established and emerging role players in the industry.

We hope that the outcome of this historic conference will be accelerated empowerment of previously disadvantaged individuals and communities. We trust that it would accelerate the participation of more women in decision-making structures. We hope that it will accelerate the involvement of more women in partnerships and more women and youth in construction so that they too should find a reason to celebrate.

As Ben Okri said, "Dancing with change is better". Acting together, we have made decisive advances over the past eleven years and laid a solid basis for sustainable growth and development. We indeed have a reason to celebrate our achievements thus far and work harder towards an economy that benefits all.

Ke a leboga.

Issued by: Department Of Public Works, North West Provincial Government
9 October 2005
   

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