Speaking at the IMESA Conference 2012 this morning, Naren Bhojaram, the president of Consulting Engineers South Africa, outlined how municipal engineers need to re-establish their profession within the challenging confines of the current sector.

Bhojaram outlined the evolution of the municipal engineering fraternity as being strongly influenced by the training of engineers over the past five decades:

• 1970s and 1980s: Municipalities and parastatals were the best training grounds for young engineers.
• 1990s: Experienced municipal engineers moved to the private sector and municipalities lose their credibility.
• 2000s: The private sector continues to train young engineers.
• 2010s: Price-based competition results in the private sector reducing training and various interventions for training and development of capacity within local authorities fail. Training of young engineers becomes non-existent and the profession itself becomes an unattractive option for learners.

All of the points are further compounded by the current circumstances in provincial and municipal planning where integrated development plans hinder actual progress as they are often political wish lists. With the rapid urbanisation of South Africa’s cities expected to continue, Bhojaram posed the question: “Why are we building infrastructure that will last 50 years in rural areas?”

Densification of urban areas incorporating integrated solutions should be explored,as should the continued maintenance and expansion of existing urban infrastructure– and these solutions will call for a new generation of experienced municipal engineers devoid of ‘political affiliation’.

Photo: The newly elected president of IMESA, Frank Stevens, opens the IMESA Conference 2012, which is themed‘Engineering for Change’

Photo: The president of CESA, NarenBhojoram, delivers his presentation,‘The reincarnation of the municipal engineer’