CIDB & Council for the Built Environment 2017/18 Annual Report

Meeting report

Opening Remarks by the Chairperson

The Chairperson welcomed the Department representatives, the Portfolio Committee as well as the different entities that were in attendance.

Briefing by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) on their 2017/2018 Annual Report

Mr Mbongeni Dlamini, Deputy Chairperson, CIDB Board, indicated that the performance that the CIDB would be presenting occurred in the backdrop of severe human resource capacity constraints, particularly at the Executive level of the organisation. He added that there had been management instability – largely because the CEO and CFO positions had been vacant for quite some time, 3 years, at least. However, an interim Board was appointed at the beginning of the 2017/2018 financial year with the primary objective of re-establishing stability at the Executive level hoping to provoke performance improvement. There has been notable progress thus far. The CEO position has been interviewed and will be submitted to the Board for consideration and, thereafter, to be consulted with the Minister.

The majority of the challenges faced were administrative in nature. Contrarily, the successes mostly came from areas of governance. This was attested by the opinion of the Auditor General, which was an unqualified opinion of the CIDB financials. The CIDB certainly could have done better and there was plenty of room for improvement. There was a surplus in overall expenditure which was allocated to be utilised in various projects, which was to be further elaborated during the course of the presentation. The core mandate had been implemented fairly well, especially in terms of development, transformation and general services provided by the entity. There was a total of 48 737 Grade 1 applications processed, 44 671 (92%) of which were processed within 48 hours. The contractor registration for Grade 2 to 9 had 95% compliance to turnaround times.

There are a number of standards that the entity had drawn out. These include those that are crucial in terms of regulating the construction sector as well as those that relate to competence, training and development of contractors, and partnerships with various client Departments, including the Gauteng Department of Transport. There was also work in progress focusing on transformation and development of the sector. These are areas in the Standards for Health and Safety which are due for release for public comment. Another Standard will be for managing and regulating the prompt payment of contractors. There is also a plan to standardise the adjudication of projects.

The entity also evaluated the ease of doing business within the construction sector. This was referred to as the Red Tape study. There were quite a number of lessons learnt through this process and they are currently being used to eradicate impediments in the sector. This is a high level overview of the current state of the Board.

Mr Ebrahim Moola, Acting CEO, CIDB, began by briefly reiterating the mandate as well as the mission of CIDB. He added that there is an ongoing organisational design process at the entity, causing some leadership instability. This formed part of the Auditor General’s findings. A total of only 60% of the internal audit projects were completed in March 2018 because of the lack of Auditor appointments. Only 18 of the 63 annual targets were achieved and a lot of the challenges faced were related to internal administration, where only eight out of the 24 targets were achieved.

With the strategic objective aimed at ensuring that the CIDB is complying with all legislative requirements, the entity resolved 88% of the audit findings. Regarding the improvement of governance and accountability, an average of 60% of recurring findings were resolved. The entity was also successful with regulation and advocacy – 95% of Grade 2 to 9 contractors and Professional Service Providers (PSPs) were registered within 21 working days; 96% of the contractors were accurately recommended by assessors, while 79% of them were satisfied with the registration services. Furthermore, 99% of the customers’ registration satisfaction rating was achieved.

Concerning the strategic objective that deals with development and capacitation, the CIDB Standard for Contractor Participation Goals (CPGs) as well as the CIDB Standard for Auditing of Health and Safety Management Plans were submitted to the Department of Public Works (DPW) in December 2017 for endorsement prior to the submission to the CIDB Board. More than 50% of contractors that have since been assessed have met the requirements of the CIDB Competence Standard. Growth areas identified will be addressed in the 2018/2019 financial year.

About of 58% of the total revenue was received through other revenue streams. The shortfall by 7% from the target was due to some delays in determining the best practice fee. The Supply Chain Management turnaround index target was 75% but 70% was achieved because of reasons that include the reworking of the specification, clarifications, time taken to schedule BEC meetings as well as staff capacity constraints imposed by the organisational design process that was still underway. The entity had also aimed to accomplish a 2nd level of maturity as regarding the implementation of ICT governance strategy. This was not realised – only 1st level was achieved because of the IT policy and framework not being finalised.

Only 15% of the fraud cases that were reported were actually investigated; only four out of 26. This was caused by the delays in appointing new service providers that would deal with the cases. The employee satisfaction rating was also a disappointing 50% because the survey was not conducted timeously. Customer satisfaction and stakeholder perception surveys also had not finalised at the time of the submission of the progress report but they have since been concluded. 63% instead of the coveted 70% of Board resolutions and decisions were implemented within specified timeframes; this was due to the delay in the appointment of Auditors.

Another target was to ensure a 5% Provincial Index of contractors graduating from CDPs. However, this was not met because the assessment of contractors was not finalised in all nine provinces. There were awareness workshops held in all provinces, for contractor and PSP recognition, but there was a slower uptake than expected. The project compliance provincial index could not be determined due to no agreement concluded with the Department of Labour. CIDB also strives to have an impact on contractors, through offering business advisory services; however, the process of establishing these services had not been finalised. For Project Assessment Scheme compliance, draft regulations have been published for public comment. Regulatory processes, which would allow performance ratings by clients for projects with contracts and PSPs, had not been concluded. The monitoring systems, which were put in place to ensure prompt contractor payments, within 30 days, were inadequate.

In terms of industry transformation, there was a plan to assist with accelerating contractor growth but the baseline was not determined - the CIDB online query system was in place but not yet linked to the web for registration and recording purposes. The percentage of black-owned contractors that have upgraded over the previous 3 years is slightly higher than the total population norm, which probably reflects, among other reasons, the impact of preferential procurement on the basis of transformation. Black ownership was still predominant on low-to-mid grade contractors; however the percentages for high-level ones have also improved. Women ownership is now more spread out amongst the different grades, though slightly decreasing with the increase of grades. He said that the range was between 20-30% for those that have 30% equity, and 30-40% for those that own at least 51% (majority) equity.

Mr Moola concluded by outlining the recovery plan going forward, stating that it is centred by the reviewing the incomplete 2017/2018 performance targets that were not accomplished and their revision for the 2018/2019 financial year. This includes undertaking a risk assessment of all the targets. Other key activities are the monthly monitoring, reporting and management of corrective actions within areas of responsibilities, including those of the Executive Committee. He added that the performance assessments of the Executive Committee and senior managers would have to reflect any failures to achieve targets. All of this was contingent upon the completion of the organisational design.

Mr Sfiso Nsibande, Acting CFO, CIDB, indicated that the entity received an unqualified audit opinion, with key findings being:

• Irregular expenditure of R413 743 incurred within the current financial year
• Vacancies of key positions such as CEO, COO and CFO, leading to organisational instability
• Inaccuracy of annual performance reporting
• A supplier did not declare its employment in state

He stated that motivation for the condonation of the irregular expenditure was drafted and submitted to the National Treasury (NT); the CIDB had been awaiting advice from the NT on how to proceed in investigating the matter. The Board had since completed interviews for the CEO position, CFO positions were currently underway and the finalisation of these positions was still pending.  Most of the inaccuracies in the annual performance report were corrected in engagement with the Auditor General, before the conclusion of the audit.

Mr Nsibande detailed the governance structure of the CIDB, stating that the former organisational structure has a total of 224 positions and 117 of them were filled. The process to fill the vacant positions had been suspended until the finalisation of the organisational design. The proposed new structure was tabled to the CIDB Human Resource Management Committee on 17 September 2018 and was to be tabled to the Board on 25 October 2018. There were only five cases of misconduct and disciplinary actions, including 1 final written warning, three CCMA cases resolved as well as a Labour Court resolved case.

The entity had budgeted an expenditure of R56 727 000 for administration expenses but only spent R44 972 505. Capital expenses were far less than anticipated, amounting to only R215 628, instead of the anticipated R4 500 000. There was also R78 257 000 personnel expenditure. Taking all other expenses and income into consideration, there was a total surplus of R35 195 266 after expenditure and the entity requested the permission from the National Treasury to retain these funds and utilise them for projects such as the procurement of new company premises, for increased office space, as well as IT infrastructure, which would incorporate an online registration feature.

Discussion

Mr D Ryder (DA) appreciated the fourth consecutive unqualified audit opinion that the CIDB had managed to achieve. He then commented on the annual target of resolving 60% of recurring audit findings, stating that he thinks it was a soft target – the entity should set a higher goal than that. He complimented the CIDB for efficiently resolving the findings, noted that it was a step in the right direction and encouraged the management to strive for a clean audit. He referred to the vision, mission and values of the organisation, emphasising that these principles offer continuous guidance for every operation and activity undertaken within the business. He proclaimed that the board seemed to be mostly using the 25% vacancy rate of the entity as an excuse to absolve themselves from some of the challenges they have failed to address. This was contradictory to the organisational values of agility and responsiveness. He also raised the fact that on the previous day, the Auditor General had indicated that there were findings relating to performance and key legalisation complaints; they also highlighted the deterioration of the supply chain management of the business.

Mr Ryder continued by pointing out that the organisation exclusively had male representation present at the meeting and throughout its senior management level, emphasising the necessity of better gender representation in the pursuit of transformation. He commented on Programme 3, which deals with development and capacitation, stating that it needs more effort and focus, with more ambitious targets. He commented that slides 25 to 31 highlighted several basic achievements and the fact that they are highlighted was an acknowledgement by the management staff that there are serious concerns that need to be dealt with. He welcomed the fact that there was a recovery plan presented and for that reason, there was some faith in management because there seems to be attention on dealing with the existing problems. Were there consequences for the one supplier who did not declare their employment in state? Was that supplier still supplying to the entity? Lastly, he commented on the budget surplus saying that the Department of Public Works (DPW) as well as the NT expects the entity to use its funds more effectively in achieving its targets. He also encouraged the entity to move towards a position of self-funding.

Ms E Masehela (ANC) congratulated the CIDB for obtaining an unqualified audit opinion and encouraged the CIDB representatives to now aim towards a clean audit. She expressed that it was unacceptable to achieve only 18 out of 63 annual targets; stating that some of them, such as conducting surveys, should not be difficult to achieve. When will the IT Policy and Framework be finalised? There must be a set timeframe. Why was there only 15% of fraud cases reported and investigated? Was the assessment of contractors not finalised in all nine provinces? She commended the CIDB for its gradual progress towards the realisation of transformation, adding that there was still room for improvement. She pointed out the lack of inclusion of people living with disabilities was counter to propagating employment equity.

Dr M Figg (DA) stated that while the unqualified audit was commendable, there was room for improvement. Was there any monetary value attached to the 12 targets that were not achieved? Were the missing numbers, on slides 16-31 of the presentation, an indication of the matters that were bad? He apologised for asking such a question but he thought that those missing numbers could tell a story. The presentation indicated that 60%of internal audits were completed and the explanation had been that there was a delay in the appointment of auditors. What was causing the delay? 

Dr Figg expressed concern about the contractors that were not paid within 31 days. He stated that this according to him was a form of a criminal offense because there had been direction, legislation and indication that creditors should be paid within 31 days and yet this was still continuing. As a result contractors are failing. The bigger companies cannot survive, even more so, the smaller companies. 
He was pleased to hear the explanation given about the one supplier who did not declare its employment in state and action had been taken. He asked if it should not be a policy that there should be a cooling period for any individual who leaves the entity, to ensure non-disclosure of sensitive inside information.

Mr Dlamini appreciated the inputs and constructive criticism from the Honourable Chairperson and members. He added that they resonated with the plans that the board had set itself to drive and pursue.

Mr Moola welcomed the questions and comments from the Committee, saying that they are all relevant and designed help the CIDB staff to improve their performance. He also welcomed the matter of moving towards a clean audit. The Department would now push towards a clean audit. With regards to the matter of not achieving targets, the Department had a recovery plan wherein there is a monthly monitoring report to look more closely on things that can be done to improve where necessary. The current quarterly reports have shown that this process adds value.

Concerning the deterioration of the supply chain management, he asked that they comment later on their plan of action as an entity. He acknowledged the need to improve in upholding their values of agility and responsiveness but expressed that there has been improvement nonetheless. He clarified that the absence of the Chairperson of the Board is not a reflection of the current state of the organisation.

He thought the development and capacitation space was an area the CIDB has extensively focused on. The regulations are linked to this as they enable capacitation and development. An example was the Project Assessment Scheme, wherein part of the project fee amount gets plugged into to enterprise development and skills development. He acknowledged the need for using the budget effectively. He expressed that the point about smart target setting stated by the Chairperson was clear and that the CIDB would pay more attention to it. He indicated that the CIDB does have a timeframe with regards to the IT policy and framework; quite a few IT policy components had been addressed in internal meetings held prior to the Committee meeting. He mentioned that he did not have information listing the provinces at which the assessment of contractors had not been finalised.

Remarks by the Chairperson
The Chairperson expressed that the Committee was no longer excited about the unqualified audit opinion at the CIDB because the Committee expected more than this. He asked how it was possible that individuals who are well-learned could hold positions for as long as four years. He expressed that the Committee expects the Department to excelling the most out of all South African departments as there was nothing as respected as the professions in the Department. The Committee wanted a clean audit. 

He expressed that beyond a clean audit, ordinary South Africans want change in terms of addressing the imbalances of the past. The CIDB has a mandate to change the lives of the previously marginalised population in order to restoring their dignity. He added that it was not professional to set targets and later make excuses. When an entity sets targets it should go out of its way to remove obstacles on its way to achieving them; blame-shifting is not acceptable. The slow movement in filling vacancies is not helping the unemployed majority of South Africans. 

Briefing by the Council for the Built Environment (CBE) on their 2017/2018 Annual Report

Mr Isaac Nkosi, Board Chairperson, CBE, began by introducing his fellow board members and also acknowledged the accompanying members of the councils who were in attendance. He then proceeded to give an overview of the CBE Annual Report, highlighting the key mandate of the CBE. He firstly mentioned that the CBE was established in terms of the Council for the Built Environment Act No. 43 of 2000, by the DPW, as a juristic person. He stated that the entity regulates the Councils for the built environment professions and also acts as an appeals body on matters raised by the Councils. He then indicated that that would be his final address to the Portfolio Committee as Chairperson of the CBE as he will soon be stepping down from his position. He expressed words of gratitude to the Chairperson, the Ministry as well as the Honourable Members of the Committee for their consistent support and guidance, which enabled the CBE board to execute its duties. He added his appreciation for the Councils that operate under the CBE, other sister entities that serve under the DPW as well as all other stakeholders.

He listed the objectives of the CBE, which are stipulated in their strategic plan which expands from 2014-2019. The first one was the transformation of built environment professionals. He mentioned that although they faced challenges in trying to achieve it, they embarked on drafting alleviation measures, stemming from a strategic level, translating to them operations. They managed to successfully lead the implementation of the structured transformation model, with the involvement of their colleagues from the Councils for the Built Environment Professions. The numbers may not fully reflect this but there are other contributing factors which would be detailed by the CEO. He added that they hosted an event which they titled ‘Transformation Indaba’, an annual event which aims to unite all key Built Environment stakeholders, including the DPW Committee in a commitment towards a common agenda – in order to achieve their transformation targets.

There had been a notable improvement in terms of demographics over the last 4 years. In 2014 the black representation has grown from 24% to 30%; gender representation from 9% to 11%. Evidently, there is still plenty of room for improvement but they can be proud of the foundation they had established. They had taken steps of reserving vacancies for those who are qualified for them. However, they have identified an issue of practitioners who were currently practising without being registered, thus remaining uncaptured and excluded from the system. Therefore, the amount of registered practitioners would not fully reflect the actual statistics. He indicated that the Council had a plan to raise awareness and to encourage the progression from candidacy to professional status, especially amongst black candidates.

Initially there were some governing challenges. However, certain measures were taken in trying to establish and maintain internal stability within the organisation, which in turn helped boost the overall staff morale and productivity and ultimately improved the performance of the entity. During the first 2 years of the strategic plan (2014-2016), the audit outcomes were unqualified; in the last 2 years (2016-2018), the audits have been clean audits. The CBE performance highlights are headlined by the achievement of 90% of the targets for the current financial year – 18 out of 20 annual targets.

Mr Nkosi concluded by expressing concordance with the Chairperson on the issue of the CBE having a tangible impact within communities by helping to improve people’s lives but a limited budget is an impedimental in reaching a wider audience. The Council had however made an attempt to alleviate this constraint by considering seeking for alternative sources of income in the form of donations from stakeholders (as this is in agreement with Act No. 43), as long as they are within the framework of the PFMA and had the approval of the National Treasury.

Ms Priscilla Mdlalose, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), CBE, accentuated the vision, mission as well as the mandate of the CBE as a basis for substantiating the challenges the CBE has faced in executing and fulfilling its purpose.

She stated that, beyond professionalising the industry, their vision is to realise an environment that is built to meet people’s needs and aspirations. Their mission is to implement projects and programmes that address built environment issues and add value to the built environment professions, government and the general public. She added that the entity has ran pilot projects with the aim of demonstrating how operations should be conducted by getting a better understanding of issues that are experienced by the candidates, professional as well as public members. Moving forward, the CBE will be handing over some of these projects to the relevant implementing agents, such as the Councils, who are responsible for the human capital development.

Mr Mokgema Mongane, Chief Operations Officer, CBE, expounded the operational performance highlights of the financial year. He mentioned that the CBE developed and implemented an IT Governance Framework in line with the Department of Public Service Administration’s (DPSA) Corporate Governance of ICT Policy Framework. Through the CBE’s skills pipeline programme, which deals with the value chain, 150 Grade 12 learners were enrolled into a Maths and Science support programme. Also, two implementation plans for production and development of high demand BEP skill categories – landscape architects and property value professionals were completed. CBE’s partnerships with Universities of Technology and host employers worked productively, which allowed the work placement of 152 interns. The CBE concluded a Memorandum of Understanding with the Walter Sisulu University on the placement of interns for Working Integrated Learning (WIL). A total of 50 candidates were placed in workplace training.

Mr Mongane restated that the CBE successfully held its annual Transformation Indaba which addressed Built Environment (BE) issues relating to transformation. A Declaration of Intent, committing to partners to collaborate on transformation initiatives was signed. There are also Transformation Road Shows to be held within the current financial year with regional Departments of Public Works’ (DPWs) from other provinces such as KwaZulu Natal (KZN) and Eastern Cape.

A key challenge is that the ability to operationalise the CBE mandate affects the extent of impact the organisation can have upon its stakeholders. Additionally, through the support of the Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC), there was no confidence that the CBE will strengthen its capacity to focus on its core mandate and thus achieve greater impact on the BE sector. One of the annual targets was the submission of the six Councils of the Built Environment Professions (CBEPs’) strategic plans, annual performance plans and annual reports to the DPW. This was not achieved – four of the six CBEPs did not submit their annual performance plans, citing government issues, lack of capacity and resource constraints. To address this challenge, the CBE conducted a training workshop for the CBEPs to develop them in this regard. The Auditors’ reports for the different CBEPs were all unqualified.

One of the core mandates of the Councils that report to the CBE is the registration of professionals – promoting them from candidacy. As of the 2017/18 financial year, across all the professional bodies, a total of 45 63 individuals are registered. In terms of the racial and gender demographics, there had been some commendable improvement, especially in the total numbers, albeit the males are still dominant within the different fields and races. Overall, the white race still constitutes an overwhelming majority. The primary goal of transformation is thus a better reflection of the demographics of their entire population while increasing the numbers across the board. Contrarily, the statistics for the registered candidates, who are currently practising under the supervision of registered professionals, are a better representation of the overall demographics – the African race is leading significantly.

The CBE also includes the recognition of prior learning (RPL) for individuals who, although do not have formal qualifications, do have extensive working experience and sufficient knowledge of the duties entailed by the professions. This forms part of transformation in that it helps eradicate the implications of the injustices of the past, most particularly under the Apartheid government. The various CBEPs have also established partnerships and agreements with certain countries globally for the purpose of enabling professionals to be recognised internationally.

Most of the CBEPs have each formed their own transformation initiatives. The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) has improved its accessibility by opening four satellite centres in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal. They have also created a new registration model which has significantly reduced the turn-around time from nine to four months, allowing professionals to register more efficiently.

The South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP) supports a number of transformative programmes such as the RPL, Women in Architecture South Africa (WiASA) and the National Architectural Student Forum (NASF). They also collaborate with Accredited Learning Sites and Voluntary Associations and Registered Professionals to drive transformation in the local and global built environment.

The South African for the Landscape Architectural Profession (SACLAP), will also be increasing its drive to implement its RPL policy and run awareness campaigns to motivate unregistered persons to register with the Council. On a lower level, they will be working with the DPW to encourage school learners to consider careers within the built environment industry.

The South African Council for Project and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP) has introduced Historically Disadvantaged Individuals (HDIs) Youth Marketers to conduct youth activations to promote the profession. A youth portal is also being established to provide career information and guidance. The Council received funding from the Sector Education Training Authority (SETA) to support 100 learners over a year.

The South African Council for the Property Values (SACPVP) established a youth desk to address the declining numbers of candidates and professionals being registered. The Council has established pre-examination workshops to support and prepare candidates – this initiative has improved the number of candidates who have passed admission exams to become registered professionals. They also now have an interactive IT platform which allows registered persons to update their information.

The South African Council for the Quantity Surveying Profession (SACQSP) has implemented an amnesty option for candidates registered for over 10 years but have not progressed. This route exempts candidates from submitting their daily diaries but they still have to submit the general reports and project-specific reports for evaluation. This project resuscitates close to 50% of the registrations.

Ms Lindy Jansen van Vuuren, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), CBE, stated that the CBE received a grant allocation of R48.586 million from the DPW and, with additional revenue from the CBEP levies as well as interest income; the CBE had a total revenue budget of R52.206 million. The total budget expenditure for the year was R52.206 million, which resulted in a zero deficit/surplus. However, the actual financial performance of the CBE resulted in a surplus of R1.309 million. The total actual revenue earned for the year amounted to R52.206 million against the budgeted revenue (R52.206m). This resulted in a favourable variance of R0.229 million (0.44%) on revenue. There were 18 audit findings in the prior year and only 15 in 2018. Only two findings reoccurred from the previous year - one of them has already been resolved and the other will only be addressed at the end of the current year. All of the seven IT governance audit findings were resolved. An Audit Matrix of all external and internal audit findings is used to track the progress of resolving the audit findings. The progress of each is updated every quarter by the responsible manager, reviewed by the Executive Management and submitted to the Audit and Risk Committee. .

The CFO reiterated that the CBE has had a clean audit for the last 2 years and the target is to achieve another one for the 2018/2019 financial year. The Auditor General concluded that the financial performance and cash flows of the CBE for the year ended in accordance with the Standards of Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (GRAP Standards) and the requirements of the Public Financial Management Act (PFMA) of South Africa, 1999 (Act No.1 of 1999).

Discussion

Dr Figg appreciated the presentation, stating that he does not have any major concerns. However, he asked if there was any irregular, wasteful and unauthorised expenditure during the course of the year. He then expressed his support for transformation but also pointed out that other demographics besides Africans should not be neglected. He stated his observation that Coloureds and Indians are poorly represented, saying that even the targets are not inclusive. He also acknowledged that the CBE Executives do not make policy, they only implement it; therefore this is not in their control. How and why are applications for recognition of prior learning totally rejected? He commented that for the case where the applicants have not properly completed their portfolio, the entity should rather let them complete them in order to approve registration. While there are complaints that are in progress, are any of them outstanding? If candidates, who have been registered for long periods such as 10 years are still not progressing to become professionals, it only makes sense for them to consider other professions. What is the reason for them taking this long?

Mr Ryder expressed gratitude towards the CBE Chairperson for his impressive work and asked why he is stepping down from his position. He then commended the CBE Executive Management, also adding that the Auditor General has pointed out that changes in senior management are a challenge to all the other entities under the DPW. He expressed that he hopes that there is a succession plan in place for the expected vacancy. He also appreciated the clean audit opinion stating that two consecutive clean audits is a great achievement but a third one would be even better. He implored the Board to keep up the excellent work. On a different note, he asked for clarity about how the vision and mission of the organisation translated into benefits for South Africans. He pointed out that there seems to be no focus on the management and maintenance of buildings and asked if this is by design or is there a different entity in charge of this. With approximately 90% of people housed in existing buildings, there seems to be no information available to educate people about how to maintain buildings and this raises a concern about the long-term deterioration of infrastructure. How does the CBE operate with the Green Building Council (GBC)?

He shared about an experience that the Committee had when they travelled to Germany recently, which included attending a presentation by the DNGB, a German built environment council. The DNGB emphasised the importance of a sustainable built environment. An architectural firm, serving under the DNGB, employs social scientists as part of its staff component with the aim of encouraging people to grow fond of buildings for them to maintain them in good condition. It investigates cultural and social requirements of buildings to incorporate them in their design scope. This is the kind of forward thinking that is needed within South African councils. With reference to slide 41, South Africans benefit significantly in submitting complaints about the condition so what is the timeframe for the turnaround time of complaints? There is a shortcoming if they are not handled seriously and efficiently.

The Chairperson expressed his support of the RPL programme, saying that it was a way of addressing the imbalances of the past - those who were and still marginalised will feel uplifted, dignified and included. There is a mandate to uphold the order of the constitution which aims to restore justice. He also highlighted the importance of ensuring actual competence beyond mere claims from these individuals through thorough testing. Skilful human capital must not lost easily – why is the Chairperson leaving office? At the same time, there should be inclusivity – different boards should not be comprised of same individuals.

Ms Priscilla Mdlalose, CEO, CBE, responded by firstly stating that the full Annual Reports of the respective Councils have comprehensive and detailed information which speaks to some of the concerns that have been raised by the Committee. She expressed that she hopes that in the near future, each of the Councils will be afforded an opportunity to do presentations to the Committee and not just be represented by the CBE.

Ms Jansen van Vuuren replied stating that there were no fruitless and wasteful expenditure identified in the 2017/18 financial year. However, an amount of R156000, out of approximately R51 million, was considered irregular expenditure. This related to two contracts where the CBE exceeded by about 15% without approval from the National Treasury but only realising it a bit too late. The entity has instructed its IT department to write a module that will indicate over-expenditure as from the subsequent financial year. There currently isn’t a module which compares the actual expenditure to the contract price – this has been processed manually. 

Mr Christopher Tsatsawane, Executive: Strategic Services, CBE, responded to the question regarding rejected applications for recognition of prior learning by acknowledging that ECSA had the highest amount. He clarified that these applications are rejected for a number of reasons; for instance, some applicants do not submit substantial referees who can verify their claim of the work they have done to qualify for registration. In some cases, the referees were valid but their account does not correspond to the claims of the applicant. The portfolios of evidence sometimes do not corroborate the theoretical experience claimed by the applicant.

Engineering is a sensitive and critical component of the built environment, therefore it would be irresponsible from the part of the council to certify individuals as engineers, technologists and technicians when they have not gone through robust reviews and interviews because these are people without formal qualifications.

The seemingly high number of complaints can be attributed to the fact that the ECSA is one of the biggest councils under the CBE. Some complaints are typically about delayed interviews and this can also be a reflection of impatience of the complainants. This is simply a demonstration of oblivion about how interviews are conducted. A PR (Public Relations) review system is used, where professionals in different parts of the country are invited to take part in interview proceedings. Sometimes the professionals cannot make it to the meetings and this slows down the process.

Mr Mongane added that for cases that are rejected, the feedback report that is returned to the applicant always indicates the growth areas. Also, given the opportunity, there are programs that endeavour to assist them in those shortcomings. The rejected applicants are then given the opportunity to reapply. The standard is therefore not compromised. Some Councils are still small and new which explains their relatively low membership count.

There is a prescribed period of 60 days for resolving complaints as per Act No. 43. At the council level they are handled through a tribunal and, if necessary, are escalated further to the CBE appeals committee. The complaints that are still pending are still within the prescribed period.

Concerning candidates who are registered for a period as long as 10 years, there used to be a grace period given by what was known as ‘The Grandfather clause’. Mr Mongane further elucidated that it considered the fact that much of the work is outsourced in tenders particularly within government projects causing the design element to often take long periods to complete. This would then extend the period within which the applicants complete their mandatory learning outcomes; considering that this also includes evaluation and revision of the outcomes, the total period can be as long as 10 years. The other comments have been noted. The CBE management will strategise and execute accordingly.

Mr Nkosi clarified that his initial plan was to remain in office as the Chairperson. However, when he returned to the SACPCMP he was appointed as a Council member and was surprisingly also elected to be the President of the Council. Because of other personal endeavours it would be a tall order for him to also remain in office and do it justice. There may also be other deserving candidates who may do a better job than he has done. Credit for the commendable work is due not only to him but all his colleagues, the DPW and all other stakeholders.

Ms Priscilla Mdlalose recently appointed CEO, CBE delegated the representatives of the Councils present to respond to the questions and comments, by the Committee which are directly related to each respective Council.

Mr Toto Fiduli, Acting Registrar, SACAP, responded that the reason why the SACAP did not have any successful applicants for the RPL was because the third-term Council had repealed the policy stating that anyone who is obtain a qualification must have obtained a formal education at a tertiary institution. However, the current Council has reinstated the programme and it was currently being processed. By the end of the next financial year the numbers will have definitely improved.

Regarding the high number of complaints received by the entity, he clarified that the SACAP does not have the capacity to address the complaints efficiently. Architecture is the initiation process of the planning of a building and it undergoes continuous modification until the client is completely satisfied before any construction commences. This should substantiate the number of complaints. Most of the quoted complaints were received within the current year; they are in the process of being addressed.

Ms Mdlalose accounted for the issue of building management, stating that the South African Council for the Property Valuers Profession, SACPVP, are attending to this issue. She added that she would inquire more information from the entity, for the Committee. The CBE and the GBC are currently drawing up a Memorandum of Understanding in order to affiliate accordingly.

Mr Butcher Matutle, Deputy Director General Inter-Governmental Coordination, DPW, commended the different entities for their admirable work. He emphasised that the Department continues to offer its support to entities regarding capacity issues. The Minister has appointed an individual who is now working closely with the CIDB to finalise the pending appointments – the CEO position has recently been finalised, the CFO one has just been processed and the COO one should be completed soon. The DPW is aware of issues in other entities and will be assisting them accordingly to enable them to continue functioning optimally.

Ms Letsabisa Shongwe-Lerotholi, President Architect, SACAP, pointed out that the effectiveness of professional consultants in the plight of impacting society is ultimately in the hands of powers that control funds – the private sector as well as the DPW. She added that the Department has a position that enables it to engage the consultants in a way that encourages and enables them to educate and employ the youth. Consultants are dealing with having to squeeze their margins; the Department can assist by reinstating the roster system to enable entities to be hired by the Department to undertake projects thus helping the consultants and the entities to obtain funds.

Mr Nsibande, CIDB, responded to Mr Ryder’s question concerning the maintenance of existing infrastructure stating that the CIDB has developed a Standard that they can share with him through the office of the Portfolio Committee.

Remarks by the Chairperson

The Chairperson urged the entities to continue with the laudable work doing their bit in a changing society. He appreciated the CBE Chairperson’s response about his departure alluding to the importance of empowering other individuals and giving them a chance to hold Executive positions. He advised the entities to not ostracise the elderly because even though there are some who are hindering progress and evolution, there are still those who are using their power to advocate for young people. The private sector is fortunate to be able to cater for their families in terms of schooling, lifestyle as well as in business. Therefore it is imperative for learned and successful individuals holding key positions in leading entities, particularly those who are coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, to not neglect their communities. The Constitution allows entities to submit proposals to the Committee; although cognisant of the limited time available, they should ideally be kept short.

The Chairperson thanked the Committee for its attendance and all the entities for their presentations and inputs. He stated that other entities would be present in the meeting that was to be held on the following day.

The meeting was adjourned.