Civilution Congress 2014 – Engineers in Revolution is a time to bring back engineering excellence, ethical business practice and sustainable solutions, says South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) CEO Manglin Pillay.

Pillay says the private sector must be aligned with government’s aspirations for a better South Africa where engineers must reclaim their role in the government’s proposed R3 trillion infrastructure development strategy.

Despite the challenges it is faced with, Pillay says the engineering profession is now abandoning pessimism and distrust of government, now attentive to its unified, solution-driven voice. He expects government to continue making strides in positioning itself as the employer of choice for engineers and to create a professional and corporate environment within its engineering and service delivery ranks. However, he says engineers also need to start considering career paths in the government sector as a definite option.

“The Congress will be a place where your voice can be heard and a new equilibrium in the industry can be reached for better collaboration and to change attitudes and working relationships to welcome back engineers as vital role players in service delivery and to effect efficient government operations.”

Civilution: meeting goals

The 2014 Civilution Congress will invite African and international stakeholders to engage in business, institutional and development opportunities. It will host an open dialogue to create trust and a bridge between government’s and engineers’ expectations. Participants will hear from politicians including Trevor Manuel, NazirAlli and KetsoGordhan.

Civilution Congress 2014 has several goals, including:

• bringing the engineering sector together to engage in development challenges in an integrated and strategic fashion
• putting forward a position paper to government and the public that will show what engineers are committing to do differently in order to achieve an improved South Africa
• gaining insight into the work opportunities arising from the NDP and SIPs
• mobilising foreign engineers to participate in the industry boom
• reinstating long-term planning for transformation
• supporting direct and far-reaching interventions that can and must be implemented to dramatically improve and change the inherent approach to engineering.