The findings of the Auditor General pertaining to the use of consultants by the government is both a worry and a concern says Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) CEO Graham Pirie.
“It is a worry because the report does not differentiate the disciplines of the consultants and sort of paints everyone with the same brush and also that there are no proper management controls in terms of payments are in place. This is evident in the fact that the public sector entities as reflected in the three spheres of government still owe to the tune of R1-Billlion in delayed payments to consulting engineering firms,” proclaims Pirie. For more information please refer to the Bi-Annual Economic and Capacity Survey January to June 2012 in the CESA website.
CESA represents the interests of its members and provides quality assurance for clients. Over 480 firms employing just over 22 000 staff, who collectively earn a total fee income of almost R17 billion per annum, are members of CESA
CESA has been vocal, open and honest with our dealings with the State and we have proper controls that subject our members to perform their duties with integrity as we subscribe to the principle of ethical balance.
CESA believes that the government should spending more on engineering consultants to unlock projects to improve infrastructure spend and infrastructure delivery, which will alleviate inequality, poverty and unemployment.
The lack of engineering skills within government means that consulting engineers play a vital role in partnering with government as their trusted advisor to ensure sustainable solutions that provide both quality and value are procured by the various departments and at the same time providing skills transfer to mentor and train government personnel to ensure continued service delivery.