TOUGH TALK It’s no surprise I’m sure, that tough talk ruled the hours we spent discussing our industry at Emperor’s Palace on September 9. But it was so much more than talk. This Congress, probably more so than any other in the history of Master Builders South Africa, was charged with the urgency of our […]
CAMERA OBSCURA This time last year, as we once again gathered to examine and discuss the state of our industry, I wrote that we lived in interesting times – not an original pronouncement, but certainly accurate for the time. And it holds true to this day 12 months later. However, we can’t say that there […]
DREAMS AND REALITY What could be better than a cheque handed over, on time, at the end of a completed contract? Possibly the prospect of work for the next few decades on a mega-billion rand project that would most definitely take its place in the history books – one way or another. Both seemed to […]
HIGH ANXIETY As an indicator of how statistics can create either joy or despair and be wrong either way, take the first three months of 2019 when, the record shows, South Africa’s economy shrank by 3.2% – the largest drop since the notorious 2008 market crash. But as a reliable gauge of whether our country’s […]
THE BIGGER PICTURE As MBSA members attending our Congress last month in Port Elizabeth will recall, an item of particular interest was raised by Paul Dhlamini, Levies and Grants Manager at the Services Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) who told delegates that artisan development had become a national priority. He said that government recognition […]
Sink or swim – it’s your call Well, the headlines haven’t really changed – not enough to make us feel that the economic tide has actually turned. Donald Trump sent a ripple through global markets with a hell-bent withdrawal of his country from the multilateral nuclear non-proliferation accord with Iran, sending the rand, for one, […]
Construction Sector Codes Finally Gazetted Compliments of the New Season to all our members and readers. We trust you all had a safe and restful Festive Season; and that you are ready with renewed vigour and energy to deal with the head winds that we foresee will still be with us for the foreseeable future […]