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PROFILE : My journey to Professional Registration - Innocent Gininda

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Innocent Gininda shares his journey to becoming a registered Professional Engineer (PrEng), emphasizing the importance of mentorship, early preparation, and understanding ECSA requirements. He offers advice to aspiring PrEngs, highlighting the value of diverse feedback and a positive mindset. My journey to becoming a registered Professional Engineer (PrEng) culminated successfully in November 2024. I was fortunate to begin my career at a company with a Commitment and Undertaking (C&U) Agreement with ECSA and a robust mentorship program. This commitment to training engineers to the standard required for Professional Registration provided me with essential resources and a structured path to track my experience against ECSA requirements. Early exposure to these expectations instilled a positive outlook on registration and solidified my desire to achieve this milestone. My views on Professional Registration have remained consistently positive throughout this journey. Working alongside ...
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FACTS: 5 things Hardhat Professionals should know about corruption in South Africa

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To be part of South Africa's war against corruption, Construction and Built Environment Professional need to be armed with the truth about how it impacts the communities they serve. 

  1. Corruption contributes to South Africans becoming sick due to lack of clean water

Corruption in South Africa’s water and sanitation sector has put the water security of businesses and households “and indeed the entire country at risk.


Water is often not available where and when it is needed, nor of the quality needed, due to unpredictable rainfall, limited infrastructure, the misuse of financial resources, and poor management – aggravated by corruption,” says the report Money down the Drain: Corruption in South Africa’s Water Sector. 


According to the Corruption Watch Report:corruption in the water sector has resulted in deaths and it extends from taps in rural villages to the systems that supply the country’s economic heartland.


  1. Corruption creates an obstacle in a drive towards infrastructure investment

SA economic recovery plan announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa pinpointed the prioritization of infrastructure spending to reignite an ailing economy, battered by the economic impact of Covid-19, and contracted by the largest amount in a century.


But a history of corruption and cost overruns in public sector projects like Eskom's power plants; a decimated construction sector; and the fact that the country's economy is projected to contract; have left some experts questioning if there will be enough investors looking in SA's direction.


  1. Corruption creates cost overruns on infrastructure projects

A closer look at South African infrastructure projects reveals that almost all projects overrun significantly by between 5% and 58%, and furthermore, the reasons for overruns are attributed mainly to contractual issues resulting in corruption.


  1. Corruption  impacts the ability of municipalities to deliver on services

Although municipalities collectively represent the lowest sphere of government, they are arguably the more important tier of administration.This is where most citizens interface and have a direct link with government services, from refuse collection, street lights, water and electricity to recreational facilities, including parks, beaches and public swimming pools.


But according to the latest findings from ratings agency, RatingsAfrika, the country’s municipal sector has worsened over the last year, and is on the verge of collapse.Only 5% of municipalities are financially stable and roughly 64 are dysfunctional due to poor governance, weak institutional capacity, poor financial management, corruption, and political instability.


A lot of the competencies have diminished in municipal and provincial departments where a lot of the capital owners have become politicized positions.There are far fewer engineering competencies in municipalities and provincial departments and some of that is aligned in the past to corruption. 


  1. Corruption stops the natural laws of an economy functioning freely

Many acts of corruption deprive our citizens of their constitutional and human rights. Corruption and international perceptions of corruption in SA have been damaging to the country's reputation and have created obstacles to local and foreign direct investment, flows to the stock market, global competitiveness and economic growth. Often goods and services are not delivered, quality is reduced and the cost of doing business rises, killing competition, reducing international competitiveness, stifling entrepreneurship, hampering planned and preventive maintenance of critical infrastructure, and reducing local savings, which has distorted the development and upliftment of our people.


There is evidence that corruption reduces private investment in a country, particularly foreign direct investment, and has dampening effects on the competitiveness of firms and innovation. A 2009 study found that a single point increase in the corruption level (as measured by the International Country Risk Guide Index) leads to a reduction in per capita FDI inflows of about 11%. Public money, taxes collected, bonds issued, income from government investments and other means of financing government expenditure are meant to go to social grants, education, hospitals, roads, the supply of power and water and to ensure the personal security of our citizens.





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