Build on model of sharing
EC businessman shares mega trends
PROMINENT Eastern Cape businessman Saki Macozoma encouraged local businesses at the weekend to implement “mega trends” which are evolving around the world. Macozoma was speaking at a gala dinner in East London on Friday evening.
The event, sponsored by Standard Bank of which Macozoma is a board member, was hosted by the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors’ (ASAQS) Border Chapter, with the aim of bringing together a variety of stakeholders in the building industry, including local business, government officials and students aspiring to join the sector.
Macozoma said collaboration and integration of businesses, a model which had already been adapted universally, was what South African businesses needed to adapt in order to stay relevant and on top of things.
“The sector needs to understand the changes around the world and keep in touch, otherwise you won’t realise when the world has forked at the end of the road. Right now, sharing is trending as opposed to competition.
“The ability of joint companies offer a bigger, better package and more services.
“About 60% of old companies have regressed while others have fallen away from the listings, and the top 50 companies are all relatively new businesse … it’s shocking,” he said.
Macozoma, who is also a board member of several companies, focused on trends influenced by climate change and sustainability, demographics and technology for the quantity surveying sector.
“For the building environment, one of the observable challenges is the rise in the level of the seas around the globe. According to National Geographic, the intergovernmental panel on climate change predicts a rise of between 28cm and 98cm rise by 2100.
“We need to take the twin issues of climate change and population growth, into our consciousness as we plan for the future,” he said.
Macozoma said planning for uncertainty was a dire necessity.
ASAQS chief executive Larry Feinberg said the platform was a great opportunity to engage with government about challenges faced by professionals in the sector.
“Large amounts of taxpayers’ money is often used for construction and this is where a lot of corruption takes place with quantity surveyors not consulted. Yet this is the core function of our profession – to manage construction budgets to prevent our clients from spending more than they should.
“We can root out corruption in municipalities and government departments, but we are often sidelined and that is our everyday struggle,” he said.
BCM infrastructure head Ncedo Kumbaca said he was pleased to see a large number of black quantity surveyors in the industry.
“With our plans of developing the city, the metro is fast becoming a construction site and it is so inspiring for me to see 80% of the professionals in the room are black.
“The city is fast becoming a construction site as we work towards transforming the metro into a global city anchored by economic growth, as well as a tourism destination of choice.
“As we grow, we need to grow with those previously disadvantaged and ensure they also get their share of the pie, giving them a hand up and not a handout. We need to be radical about it and tilt the balance.”
Kumbaca said it was the first time he had engaged with service providers on such a platform.
Walter Sisulu University final-year quantity surveying student Thabo Mkhosana, who received an award for his outstanding performance at the institution, said rubbing shoulders with professionals in the field had boosted his confidence and motivation.
“It’s an honour being here today listening to established consultants talking about the profession. It has been an eyeopening experience and some of the things they talked about, we don’t learn about at university.
“One thing I’d like to get out there, is the desire to have modules that can help us register as professionals, incorporated into our syllabus, even if it means an extra two years, to ensure we graduate as registered professionals, just like other sectors,” Mkhosana said. —