Please give us a brief summary on your career to date
I am the Managing Director of Lekwa Consulting Engineers, where I oversee the technical and operational development of the company. I was previously employed at Transnet in various capacities with the last one being the Infrastructure Manager responsible for the oversight of three depots with the Operational budget of R420m.
I joined Lekwa Consulting Engineers in 2006 because of my desire for professional growth and passion to give back to the profession. I am also very passionate with community development leading a number of corporate responsibility initiatives in all areas where the company operates. I am also very involved in the development of professionals and young entrepreneurs.
I am a registered Mentor with ECSA and I take keen interest in giving opportunities to young professionals who then grow and become leaders within the industry.
Give us details of a project that made an impact in your career.
My Involvement on one of the Presidential Flagship projects, Nellmapius Ext 22 outside of Mamelodi in Tshwane. This project involves the installation of the internal civil infrastructure services (Internal water and sewer pipe networks, internal streets, and associated storm water system) as well as the construction of the Breaking New Ground (BNG) give away houses.
The project also includes installation of solar geysers as well as the electrification of the units. This project is the precursor to the current Mega City Projects being rolled out as part of the Catalytic Projects. The project is comprising of 1,330 free standing housing units as well as the 550 Walk up Rental Units. The project is nearing completion with over 1200 units handed over.
What is your position and duties on this project?
I am the Lead Project Engineer with the multi-Disciplinary team reporting to me. I represent a Professional Resource Team on the project and act as the Project Manager on behalf of the client.
Why does this project stand out to you?
The manner in which the project the revolutionizes the BNG housing space in that there is cohesive integration of all the required services and level of service is higher than the normal BNG standard. The projects has been cited as a gold winner (Best Community based Project) of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) Johannesburg branch in 2017 as well as the bronze winner of the Gauteng Premier's Public Service Awards 2017 under the category (Infrastructure Development Award)
What were the important lessons you learnt from this project?
Community based and Government funded project are susceptible to external delays due to community strikes, constructor/builders’ forums. The work stoppage is also affected by the long lead time to pay by the public sector clients. The decision-making process tends to be tedious and results in time overruns. the need to have social facilitation prior to the implementation of the project is quite key.
Training and mentoring if implemented correctly can lead to community upliftment as there is high value in training the sub-contractors and develop skilled work force within the community. this project has been successful in this regard albeit with challenges.
What were the regrets you experienced on this project?
The Time over runs on the project were just too much. Most of the over runs were due to external environmental issues and these resulted in additional costs as well. As indicated proper social facilitation and awareness of how projects need to be implemented is key in dealing with the issue. The delays in contractor payments as well as the decision making by the client with regard to contractual issues were also impacting the project negatively.
How did you overcome your the regrets?
These issues are being addressed at Risk reduction meetings with all the stakeholders concerned. It is work in progress.
What has been the most satisfying thing for you personally about this project?
Wow, when we do allocation of the units, just seeing the beaming faces of the recipient beneficiaries is heartwarming. I am amazed at how people take pride in what they have received as a giveaway house and they have turned those into the lively homes.
Seeing the entire neighborhood being turned into sustainable and successful project. Since the first house was allocated in 2015 there is not shack/temporary tinned structure built on site, instead, the houses are extended and beautified with amazing gardens and boundary walls. It just shows that, when given a chance, people can turn any given piece of land into something valuable!
This industry is said to be one of the toughest industries, how did you manage to stay in for so long?
Our company, Lekwa Consulting Engineers (Pty) Ltd has been in existence since 2002. we have since different cycles of growth and downturn. We have so far ridden the wave of the negative turn by tightening the belt. We have had to unfortunately let go of some of the personnel through retrenchments. We have had to reduce our expenses in line with the decline in earnings. We must evolve and expand our market positioning by offering additional services. We are diversifying and working on lean and effective teams.
Our strength is our Network Alliance, our collaborative partners who ensure that we remain relevant in the sector. We need to be more technologically inclined and we are adopting Drone based technologies in our operations. We have seen how the COVID -19 pandemic has affect how we do business; we are more flexible in our approach. This is unleashing more effective way of managing our time for servicing our clients.
Also read: This is My Story - Prof. Fidelis Emuze
In your opinion what are the biggest challenges facing the industry currently and how can they be overcomed?
There is lack of policy certainty about Infrastructure Development. The supply chain environment is full of in-experienced resources which affect the implementation of the public sector projects.
The issue of construction forums (Construction mafias as they are called) needs urgent attention as it threatens to run the industry down.
There needs to be a clamp on corruption in the industry! As Professionals in the sector we need to take charge and lead in providing ethical leadership and be brave to advocate as such to the client bodies. It is in our hands.
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