In response to the Construction Professional's anguish over an industry influenced by politically connected, a Senior Construction Professional with similar experiences shares his sentiments.
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The challenges of the South African construction industry are multifaceted, and those of us who have been exposed to it for 24 years, working full-time for 20 of those years, can tell you war stories.When I stepped into this industry as a student, it was a rude awakening of racism.
Fast forward to today where I am employed by the politically connected tenderpreneurs. What I am witnessing here is, flagrant disregard for procedure, corruption in obtaining tenders, embezzlement on a grand theft auto scale and just general poor work ethic so long as money comes in and palms greased.
I was the face of the community's dissatisfaction with their councilors and the conflicts that ensued. They create their own issues and then I am made to deal with them. It is not worth my time. Furthermore, one of the shareholders embezzled funds, which I was later blamed for. They cited this as the reason for not being able to pay out at CCMA hearings after they illegally terminated numerous contracts.
These politically connected chance takers not only bought their grading but likely the project as well and then I am expected to do a miracle.They underpriced because they don't have basics like a tendering department and on-site Quantity Surveyors ... The key word there was optimize situations.
I have also experienced the politically connected influencers who have a Messiah complex boasting about their connections and how they have been exposed to leadership and directors from a young age thus developing business acumen.The business acumen they refer to is the quaffing of expensive whiskey and soliciting work at exclusive drinking holes then having no cooking clue how to do the work.
I am a Construction Professional with over 24 years experience and I have asked for my identity to be kept anonymous for fear of reprisal.
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This exactly what brought this industry where it is today. I know what you talking about, when you try your level best to show them the right thing they'll boast of grading they've obtained in the dark Allen's.
ReplyDeleteYour experience have been there, got the t-shirt where they don't wanna pay general laborers and you've to extinguish that blaze because you're management. You're management when it suits them, the site is full of their smilies who don't even have a knowhow what's cooking and who's who in the zoo. All they know is the boss(their language).
How on earth a 16.2 doesn't even qualification but rules everything on site from material to Financials and when you step on the line of finances his eyes turns blue and you've to know them to be able to populate cash flow projection for instance. It sickens me when it comes to the greasing part where accounting officer's who are politicians don't even know what their salaries I made for and how things costs because they milk it from clueless contractors. Even the pros have been swallowed by this ugly snake where Engineer's will be given money to turn the blind on somethings.
It's high time we eradicate this to rescue our profession or by the time our kids grow and wanna follow in our footsteps it would've parished.