The consulting engineering sector is facing several challenges. CESA President Abe Thela pointed these out at the CESA Gauteng Presidential Function.
Thela identified a variety of regulatory and institutional challenges. Regulatory challenges include current procurement practices, access to work opportunities by small and emerging firms, consolidated or joint BBBEE scorecard requirements, and scope versus fixed term appointments. The CESA president identified lack of capacity, corruption, erratic infrastructure investment and education as institutional challenges. “Our profession is not yet dead, but it will die if we don’t act pretty urgently,” he said. Regulatory challenges 1. Current procurement practices Current procurement practices are based on price and BBBEE status. Thela said this method reduces consulting engineering to a commodity which is demand driven and compromises the ability of the profession to innovate, train staff and attract young professionals. He said the aim should be to procure on the best possible terms.Thela proposes a qualifications-based selection (QBS) process that places emphasis on quality and competence, a jointly developed project scope, mutually agreed upon services required to develop the scope and a negotiated equitable fee. 2. Access to work opportunities by small and emerging firms According to Thela, small and emerging firms make up 80% of CESA membership. There has been an outcry from them over access to large projects. Thela proposes targeted procurement procedures for participation in large projects. The process should be streamlined and monitored in order for it to be fair, equitable and cost effective. 3. Consolidated or joint BBBEE scorecard requirements Thela believes that the requirement for a consolidated or joint BBBEE scorecard for unincorporated joint ventures (JVs) is problematic because it discourages the formation of JVs which are crucial for skills transfer, and adds a cost burden to the sector. He proposes the following formula for a consolidated JV BBBEE scorecard: JVB-BBBEE level = Mpoints(a) x Minterest(b) + Mpoints(b) x Minterest(b) + etc 4. Scope versus fixed term appointments
The Municipal Finance Management Act stipulates fixed three year term appointments. This increases costs and delays infrastructure implementation.
Thela proposes consulting engineers are appointed based on scope of work and that the Municipal Finance Management Act be revised accordingly. Institutional challenges 1. Lack of capacity Lack of capacity leads to an inability to: appropriately procure, manage and monitor contracts and create consistent project pipelines. What is needed is the employment of appropriately qualified professionals and to improve the working environment. In the interim, Thela proposes secondment and PMO, as well as the use of retired engineers. 2. Corruption The Auditor General found rampant corruption in the 2012/2013 financial year. This included R2 billion in wasteful expenditure, R26.4 billion irregular spending and R2.3 billion unauthorised spending. CESA is committed to fighting corruption through a litigation fund and partnerships, and plans to deliver information and complaints on corruption to agencies tasked by government to investigate corruption. 3. Erratic infrastructure investment According to Thela, the cyclical nature of infrastructure investment creates uncertainty. He has asked for uninterrupted and growing infrastructure spending for the National Development Plan (NDP) period. 4. Education Thela said the low success rate at universities highlights the public education crisis. He would like to see the implementation of a schools infrastructure programme complemented by imporved quality of classroom teaching and overall school management. NDP needs consulting engineers Thela concludes that without the expertise of the consulting engineering sector, the NDP will never materialise. He said the industry needs to be supported by four things: the implementation of the NDP by increasing infrastructure spend to 10% of the GDP to 2013; an improved procurement and regulatory environment; the creation of technical capacity within government to procure service; and improved quality of education, particularly in maths and science.
