Dear Colleagues

“Starting strong is good. Finishing strong is epic”- Robin Sharma. As we embark on our final leg of the 2022/23 financial year, it is important to revisit our organisational performance. Colleagues, it is concerning that the overall performance of the organisation has declined. Our first quarter average performance was 80%, followed by 73% in the second and 76% in
the third. I want to use this opportunity to remind colleagues of what we have committed to do at the beginning of this financial year, which is to:

  • Comply with legislative prescribes
  • Focus on performance deliverables
  • Report on the work we are do
  • Innovate

I urge you not to lose sight of what makes CBE a distinct entity within the DPWI family. I do however want to acknowledge the work of the Transformation Collaborative Committees (TCCs) in advancing transformation in the sector.

I wish to appraise you of the sixth term council meeting held successfully on the 15th February 2023, where Council took a decision to rename the TCCs to Transformation Collaborative Forums, in line with section 3(h) of the CBE Act (43 of 2000) to serve as a forum where the representatives of the built environment professions may discuss the relevant:

  1. required qualifications;
  2. standards of education;
  3. training and competence;
  4. promotion of professional status; and
  5. legislation impacting on the built environment

The forums will continue to discuss industry issues and serve as a resource for informing the Minister of PWI and advancing transformation.

On 16 February 2023 the CBE joined Eastern Cape Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (ECDPWI), Walter Sisulu University (WSU), and the Chief Pokwana Royal House for a career exhibition in Ngcobo. The exhibition was held at Nyanga High School, one of the top-performing schools in the Eastern Cape. More than 700 students from surrounding schools attended the exhibition to learn about available opportunities and careers in the built environment.

The expo followed up with a meeting with WSU and the ECDPWI on 17 February 2023 to develop support-focused solutions for reimagining and establishing a Built Environment and Engineering Faculty at WSU and ECDPWI.

In another development, a meeting with Mr Ntandazo Vimba, CEO of Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA) hatched a plan of action to strengthen and improve municipal service delivery. This collaboration will serve as a platform for knowledge exchange and mutual learning in relation to structured candidature, mentorship programmes, professional registration, placement of unemployed youth graduates at municipalities, maximisation of resource utilisation, and expanding the scope of technical capacity building initiatives in the built environment.

The CBE, entities, and other government departments joined the Department of Corporative Governance and Traditional Affairs and MISA at the inaugural Eastern Seaboard Development (ESD) Skills Revolution Summit on February 27, 2023, at WSU in Mthatha to strengthen the partnership with MISA. The Eastern Seaboard Development is an initiative with a multifaceted vision to create a new smart city and bring new developments to KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.

The second WEGE webinar is planned for 15 March 2023, under the theme #WomenMuiltply – Bringing economic resilience for women in the built environment. It will focus on women’s economic empowerment – their ability to participate equally in existing markets; their access to and control over productive resources; access to decent work; control over their own time, lives, and bodies; and advocating for their increased voice, agency and meaningful participation in economic decision making at all levels from national to international institutions. As CBE ambassadors your attendance and participation at the webinar is mandatory.

Lastly, in response to the critical component of transformation, to assist previously disadvantaged students studying towards a career in the built environment, the CBE is holding hands with Feenix to roll out the “Build a Dream” crowdfunding campaign. The intention is to tap into the giving potential of the CBE’s network of professionals and its affiliates to assist students studying towards careers in the built environment to raise funds for their outstanding student debt. This collaboration is a combined effort to register previously disadvantaged students on the Feenix platform to raise funds for their studies. Feenix is a public benefit organisation that facilitates funding between students and potential funders via the Platform. The campaign will be launched in the latter half of March 2023.

Kind regards,

Dr Msizi Myeza