Programme Director; Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) CEO, Mr Cyril Gamede;

Administrator of the Construction SETA, Mr Wasa;

Levy Payers and Key Stakeholders in the Construction Sector;

My Advisors and officials from the Ministry;

Officials from the Department and the Construction SETA;

Distinguished Guests;

Ladies and gentlemen.

Good morning

It is my humble honour to address you today in this important occasion of the Construction Sector Summit for Skills, Jobs and Growth. 

I am delighted that the Administrator and the Construction SETA, felt it appropriate to hold this Summit at a critical time as government seeks to mobilise the entire country on an infrastructure-led economic recovery with focused investments in energy, water and sanitation, roads and bridges, human settlements, health and education, digital infrastructure and public transport.  The construction sector is an important sector to be prioritised especially for skills development, targeting mainly the youth of our country. 

In 2018 there were over 59 000 firms (including building materials firms) registered with the Construction SETA and over 51 513 firms registered with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB). This welcome development illustrates huge potential in the construction sector that can help us to transform and build an inclusive economy. 

I am gratified by the significant increase in the number of new entrants into the construction sector with the  CETA experiencing a 47% annual increase from 2019 to 2020.  With these developments I am confident that we will be able to achieve our objective of an inclusive growth path with women, people with disabilities and young people integrated in these developments.

To ensure that this growth is meaningful to our people, it must be a  massive job creator and multiplier, with emphasis on using local South African materials and construction companies as well as labour-intensive methods. 

Therefore, the role of the CETA is an integral and critical in growing  and developing our South African economy.                          

The Statistician-General on the 8th  December 2020 released the results of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the third quarter of 2020, revealing that the South African economy grew by an annualised rate of 66.1% in the third quarter – or 13.5% quarter on quarter. 

According to this report, the construction sector grew by 71.1% in the referred quarter compared to contraction by 76.6% (-76.6%) in the second quarter of 2020. 

At the same time, in terms of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, we are starting to see some positives, as employment increased from 1, 066 000 to 1, 080 000, implying an increase by 14 000. 

What is also interesting in the work of the CIDB’s Construction Monitor, released in October 2020, is that out of all 9 provinces, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and Eastern Cape collectively contribute 75% of construction work employment, implying most of the construction work takes place in these provinces, with the Northern Cape having the lowest contribution.

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