Council for the Built Environment (CBE) on its 2013/14 Annual Report

Meeting report

Mr Isaac Nkosi, CBE Chairperson, noted that Built Environment skills are at the centre of government’s infrastructure roll-out programme and that Built Environment products are at the centre of service delivery protests. Built Environment is defined as “every structure that is humanly created, modified, or constructed, arranged, or maintained”. It includes buildings, infrastructure, and transportation, energy and telecommunications networks and equipment and it plays a crucial role in societies and economies.

CBE’s mandate is to do the following:
a) Promote and protect the interest of the public in the built environment;
b) Promote and maintain a sustainable built environment and natural environment;
c) Promote ongoing human resources development in the built environment;
d) Facilitate participation by built environment professions in integrated development for national goals;
e) Promote appropriate standards of health, safety and environmental protection in the built environment;
f) Promote sound governance of the built environment professions;
g) Promote liaison in the field of training in SA and elsewhere and promote standards of training in SA;
h) Serve as a forum where the built environment professions may discuss the relevant
i) required qualifications
ii) standards of education
iii) training and competence
iv) promotion of professional status
v) legislation impacting on the built environment; and
i) Ensure uniform application of norms and guidelines throughout the built environment.

Ms Gugu Mazibuko, CBE Chief Executive Officer, explained CBE’s mission, strategic goals, key priorities, achievements and performance against their targeted goals. CBE’s four targets to be achieved in the next five years were:
1. Support government priorities in relation to built environment matters.
2. Facilitate and monitor continued sustainable, dynamic and competent and transformed built environment professions and professionals.
3. Establish and maintain a centre of excellence for an integrated built environment body of knowledge.
4. Strengthen public protection and educate public in relation to the built environment.

Key priorities for the CBE include the following:
• Alignment of CBE’s activities to government’s development priorities for the built environment.
• Skills development initiatives at school and tertiary levels, establishment of a structured candidacy programme to address bottlenecks in the skills pipeline, workplace training and transformation.
• Research and information on built environment issues.
• Strengthening monitoring and regulatory work of the professional councils and public awareness on built environment issues.

CBE’s achievements for 2013/14 were:
- All Built Environment Professional Councils (BEPCs) signed the Construction Health and Safety Accord;
- CBE co-championed the Skills Plan for the government’s infrastructure roll-out programme under the leadership of the Department of Higher Education and Training;
- Research projects were undertaken on application of labour intensive construction techniques locally and internationally, as well as research on the state of technical built environment skills in the 13 largest municipalities in South Africa;
- A workplace training model for built environment graduates was formulated to enhance competency and promote professional registration; and
- The legal appeals backlog was eliminated and all appeals presented in 2013/14 were processed within the legislated 60 days.

The CBE had received an unqualified audit from the Auditor-General continually since 2011/12.
In 2013/14, 86% of the APP targets were achieved. Since 2011, the percentage of targets achieved has risen by approximately 10% every financial year.

Mr Rhulani Mhlanga, CBE Interim Chief Financial Officer, presented the financial performance and planned improvements. In 2014/15 the CBE underspent according to their budget. In discussing CBE’s challenges, he noted each risk was paired with a risk mitigation strategy:

• Risk: Dependence on third parties to deliver on their mandate
Mitigation Strategy: entering into and signing MoUs with key stakeholders
 

• Risk: Slow pace of transformation in the demographics  of built environment professions (White: 76%; African: 15%; Indian: 6%; Coloured: 3%)
Mitigation Strategy: focused interventions at school level, tertiary level, candidacy phase and workplace training. A skills pipeline approach including a transformation implementation model and a workplace training model to drive transformation. The Draft Transformation Implementation Model includes the establishment of a non-profit organisation comprising of a board of trustees from CBE, DPW, Dept of Higher Education and Training, Infrastructure Departments, Construction SETA, representatives of the six Professional Councils and the private sector. Key programmes and proposed funding mechanisms are:
1. Education Upliftment Programme
2. Bursary Fund Scheme and University Capacity Programme
3. Workplace Learning Support Programme
4. Registered Professionals Support Programme
5. Public Sector Professionals Support Programme
The Workplace Training and Candidacy model includes five core areas: water; electrical; rail and ports;  roads; buildings. An umbrella management rotates between the five areas and public sector projects will be used for training purposes. A quality assessment regime will be conducted and a final assessment will be conducted by the relevant professional council.

• Risk: Lack of research infrastructure.
Mitigation Strategy: Provision of research infrastructure and expertise.

• Risk: Finalisation of the Built Environment Policy that suggests the repeal of the CBE Act.
Mitigation Strategy: Amendment of CBE Act by Department of Public Works.

Discussion
The Chairperson asked how new the Chairperson of the Council for the Built Environment was.

Mr Nkosi responded that the Council was inaugurated in 2014.

Ms P Adams (ANC) asked why no bonuses were given based on performances. Bonuses raise employees’ spirits. There was an accident in a solar project in the Northern Cape yesterday in which two people died; there have been numerous examples of accidents like this during construction. South Africa is a water-scarce country; some regions have water problems. In the Kalahari (the corner of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa) has a serious water challenge and so do Mpumalanga and elsewhere. She questioned whether the department has already budgeted for projects in every municipality and asked about the current 13 municipalities’ outcomes and how they were chosen. She also noted that the workplace-training model should include time frames and pay rates and so on because South Africa critically needs skilled workers. Everyone cites a “slow pace of transformation”; however, there are a lot of young people who would like to join these elite professionals and she asked them to please hurry up. She wondered why the young women empowerment project could not be completed this year because it should have been budgeted for. Learners are the foundation and basic education must be included in the proposed non-profit organisation. She asked if the grant and revenue is included in the total provided.

Ms E Masehela (ANC) inquired about the R5 million regarding the Department of Basic Education. He remarked that a “slow pace of transformation is not a real excuse”. Transformation should be taking place every day, and the Committee does not see this happening. He did not understand why the Department of Higher Education has universities that are not accredited and the councils should also come to the Committee to account. He wondered why the CBE is training more people when there are trained people who cannot get employed. Additionally, he asked why non-payment is occurring and why professionals are leaving critical areas.

Mr K Mubu (DA) asked when the CBE will improve upon the built environment professions demographics to show a positive racial balance. He asked what programmes are in place to inform the public about CBE because prior to becoming an MP, he was unaware of the CBE. He asked what departments the CBE is working with. He commented that internship programmes are sometimes abused by employers and some students complain that they are not attaining real skills.

Ms D Mathebe (ANC) was also concerned about the racial inequality reflected in the 76% of white built environment professionals. She questioned whether this figure was correct.

Mr M Filtane (UDM) noted that his questions would be raised by another member so that he could be excused from the meeting. The Chairperson allowed this request.

Ms Mazibuko responded that the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation has the main role in water procurement. CBE’s role is to make sure that the skills that support water service delivery are in place, in accordance with their mandate. CBE performs focused interventions. CBE is involved in the production of their skills from basic to tertiary education level in order to keep professionals in critical fields. The 13 most populated areas were targeted. The study will be extended to all of the municipalities regarding environment professionals; the budget has already been approved. He spoke about a study that had been included in the estimates of national expenditure because it is so critical to understand the technology and infrastructure in South Africa. This study will identify areas of crisis and areas that need immediate intervention. The study came from the Department of Public Works policy and has been expanded on by CBE who believes that it will be a useful tool. There are timeframes for the training models and this is detailed in the presentation. CBE ensures that the requirements and activities of the trained professional are agreed upon prior to beginning the training and daily dairies of internship activities are signed by the worker and supervisor as a means of monitoring. CBE intends to install a registration system to track whether or not people are “doing the same thing for six months” so that they know when and where to intervene. CBE wishes to maintain quality during the transformation; standards cannot be dropped. World-class professionals are needed. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) is the custodian of these interventions; therefore, gaps and overlaps must be identified before CBE acts. The programmes should complement and supplement the DBE. The CBE is targeting the poorest of poor schools. Funding from MERSETA was received for this year.

Mr Rhulani Mhlanga, CBE Interim Chief Financial Officer, clarified that the MERSETA grant was a R200 000 multi-year project that would be spent within two financial years; it was disclosed in one financial year. If the CBE failed to disclose the project then the money must be sent back. Technicalities surrounding the payback allowed for payment changes. As a result, CBE could disclose how much was spent to date and additional top-ups, in which new engagements and requirements are added, became part of the agreement. These changes make it almost impossible to budget for MERSETA early. In terms of revenue, the total for Other Revenue sums up the levies received and interest received; these equal R2.7 million.

The Chairperson remarked that Ms Adams still looks confused.

Ms Adams stated that the levies and the grant should be included in total revenue not “Other Revenue”. She would like this to be corrected.

Mr Mhlanga agreed to fix it to reflect this specific issue. He hoped that bonuses would be available next year for those who perform well.

Ms Mazibuko added that the girl learner programme would hopefully continue next financial year because it is important due to the gender inequality in environmental engineering. However, there was not enough money in the budget. The CBE is looking for funding options to reinstate the programme so that it may continue. In terms of health and safety for the solar energy sector, CBE’s role has been to establish an accord signed by the Department of Labor and business to agree to a “zero-harm” policy. CBE wishes to expand this to the curriculum of universities and tertiary institutions to include safety as a priority. Engineers in training must understand that safety comes first.

She said the CBE will accept applications for a new Chief Operations Officer in the next few weeks. The CBE understands that their failures were due to poor planning and that the misalignment of goals and spending disadvantaged the CBE; the CBE’s accepts responsibility. The Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) issues were mentioned. The six Councils can outline the real issues toward progression, whereas CBE can only give a broad overview. The six Councils should account for specific problems. For example, there are 8 000 de-registrations and the Council of Architecture can account for this because most of these are architecture engineers. The statistics surrounding transformation are concerning. The projections and targets are outlined in the 2014/15 Annual Performance Plan (APP) for each council. Next year CBE’s target for the built environment professions demographics is 60% white and the APP outlines the interventions to accomplish this goal. The CBE does want to see this change and will consult professionals if necessary. The interactions with Public Works would better detail how the situation will be addressed. She agreed that the public does not know what the CBE is because the CBE does not have a window to interface with the public. CBE work deals exclusively with the professionals. The CBE does not have the resources to interface with the public. However, awareness initiatives are planned. the CBE’s role focuses on a very specific audience.

Mr Nkosi added that in the future the CBE plans to interface with its stakeholders more and to create more awareness.

Mr Mhlanga continued that in the 2015/16 APP qualified engineers would be included. A study will be done to examine how many rands are spent by the CBE per race and gender in the programmes that the CBE supports. The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) receives about R10 billion in fees and CBE wishes to discover the gender and race profiles of that expenditure.

Ms Masehela thanked the CBE for prioritizing women. Municipalities certainly need the CBE’s services; however, it is important that the rural and local municipalities also get these services, even if they do not have engineers. She inquired as to what the six Professional Councils are. She was also worried about the unequal race statistics on the professions.

Mr Jafta (AIC) responded that the CBE is moving at a slow pace but that they should be commended for their improvements. He asked how the research will reach all of the municipalities when the CBE is not known to the public.

Mr Jafta said that Mr M Filtane (UDM) wanted to ask what the results of the projects have been, whether they were cost-effective, and if natural products have been used.

Ms Sonti (EFF) said she is unfamiliar with finance management but would like society to be saved by good service delivery. Protests are due to poor services such as no clean water, poor roads and sanitation. She noted that maths and science is key to attaining major qualifications; therefore, it is troubling that both areas are lacking.

The Chairperson recognized that the question regarding natural products may be directed to Agrement SA.

Mr Sithole asked what CBE is doing to ensure that universities get accredited and stay accredited.

Ms Adams questioned what the R8 000 donation was for and who it went to. The Auditor General’s findings had cited an inability to adhere to and enforce policies and procedures as well as inadequate IT as areas of concern. She asked why there was underspending.

Mr Mhlanga responded that the six professional councils include: engineering; architecture, quality surveying, construction and project management; landscaping; and property evaluation. The 13 municipalities are the largest municipalities per capita, but this year every municipality will be investigated regarding technical skills. The CBE is also worried about the demographics and transformation plans that are in place. He noted that schools will be reached via other’s platforms including participating in science expositions, career awareness initiatives, and institutions. Agrement SA can respond to the eco-products question. The CBE noted that the maths and science programmes were underachieving and since then great strides have been made in those projects. Accreditation in individual programmes and tertiary institutions has 19 criteria according to the Council of Higher Education framework. For a course to be accredited, each programme must be assessed. The process is thorough and it depends on the relevant professional council and the Department of Higher Education. The dean and faculty must also present in order to pass the test. A needs assessment and action plan must be completed for funding. Some receive accreditation status and others have a deadline to meet the requirements. If they fail to meet these requirements, they become unaccredited.

Ms Mazibuko explained that the donations included furniture for a service provider. Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (GRAP 23) dictates that the tangible items’ value must be recognised.

Mr Mhlanga responded that Information Technology is the CBE’s biggest weakness. A new proposal will be put forward and the Council is expecting this.

The Chairperson noted that the ongoing transformation challenges are concerns for both the Portfolio and Select Committees and both will continue to monitor the CBE for change. The Chairperson spoke about the role and relationship the entity must have with the public and Parliament. The entity must make itself known to the public because information must be available regarding opportunities. The challenges faced by the professions must be taken up by the Committee. The Committee must examine the remedial actions taken and not just point out issues. Committee members must also look at unintended ramifications of previous laws and policies in their implementation. Framework challenges must be identified and the legislature must interact with the laws and policies in order for the entity to be allowed to perform better. The issues are ongoing and the CBE needs to assist in pointing out where the Portfolio Committee and Department of Public Works can assist them. Together, with the public, changes can be made. The challenges and questions about these are too many for one committee session and future questions will be raised in the House.