By Rory Macnamara
Sugen Pillay, President of the Consulting Engineers of South Africa (CESA), presented his annual report to members of CESA and the media.

Image credit: CESA
He offered a positive outlook without ignoring the reality of the hill South Africa still has to climb, which still includes Covid.
Importantly, he stated, “However, it has become clear that South Africa still faces many of the same challenges as in prior years, with an ongoing demise of public decision-making processes, a lack of checks and balances within the procurement systems, and a loss of accountability of those tasked with leading change.” He described the SA’s president’s efforts in addressing corruption as “slow and laborious” and made reference to the Auditor General’s report where 7% of municipalities obtained a clean audit. Delayed infrastructure delivery is a frustration not helped by those being hampered by the construction mafia.
Sadly, nothing new as the government has shown its inability and/or unwillingness to change its ways notwithstanding the stout efforts of CESA to engage and strengthen relationships between government and the private sector.
Nonetheless Mr Pillay unpacked the 2021 theme of ‘Rebuilding, Purpose and Recovery’ which showed that CESA has not been weakened by the state of our country, but is rather moving forward positively and ending on a high note, “Our task is not easy, as the nuances at play make for a bumpy road to recovery. Regardless, CESA will continue to actively engage through the relevant platforms and remain your partner in enabling Consulting Engineering Excellence.”
For a full copy of Mr Pillay’s speech click here