SOUTH Africa’s construction industry is of strategic importance for the country’s economic growth and – more recently – recovery from two years of a pandemic-centred business environment.
That’s the view of Shawn Gama, CEO of Zimile Consulting Engineers, who believes a shift in focus is necessary for businesses in the industry to survive, and thrive.
“Like any business trying to work in a constrained economy – in between lockdown levels and virus waves – we have faced trying times. However, I am proud to say that we came through 2021 with a strong project pipeline and a full staff complement,” Gama said.
He attributed this to three factors.
Firstly, he believes that broadening their focus from road infrastructure to wider service delivery – especially water – has been key. “Water and sanitation became top of mind when COVID-19 first hit, and we had already started improving our expertise into water infrastructure which primed us to deliver exceptionally well. The lesson here is perhaps that, although it is great to find a niche, the time has come to broaden one’s horizons. I am happy to report we have several water projects lined up for 2022.”
Secondly, the need for rural infrastructure has become clear. “While many companies have been focussing on metropolitan projects amid rapid urbanisation, the government is still working towards providing improved services to rural areas, too,” he said.
“We are increasingly putting ourselves forward for work in these rural sector of project infrastructure delivery. We have been partnering with communities and the public sector and have found a synergy here, where our engineering expertise can be applied to solve challenges faced by these rural communities.”
Thanks to their efforts in various rural municipalities, Zimile Consulting Engineers has grown their project portfolio into several new provinces and will look towards establishing satellite offices in these areas in 2022.
Finally, Gama reports that when working with the public sector, his focus on accountability and value for money has boosted their reputation as a go-to consulting engineering firm – bringing private sector skills into public sector projects.
“There is currently a lot of mistrust between private and public sector stakeholders, with apprehension over local government’s capacity to drive projects, and frustration over the procurement process.”
Gama said these feelings are not unwarranted. “However, we have decided to lead by example, hold ourselves accountable for service delivery, and partner with our clients with fair treatment and value for money at the fore. I am happy to say that this approach has yielded great success in 2021 – a trend which is sure to continue into 2022.”
