Civil Engineering January/February 2021 | Vol 29 No 1

8 January/February 2021 Civil Engineering Pres ident ial address A WORD OF THANKS Having been born and raised in the sprawling apartheid township of Chats­ worth, Durban, in the province of KwaZulu Natal, and orphaned at the age of nineteen, I would never have imagined myself being inaugurated as the 118 th president of SAICE. It is indeed an honour and a privilege to mark this very special milestone in my career, and for this I would like to express my gratitude to SAICE’s Executive Board for providing me with the opportunity to serve as the president of this esteemed organisation for 2021. I feel extremely honoured to be a part of SAICE’s history. They say that behind every successful man is a strong woman, however I am very proud to say that I have had a very strong woman, who has always been beside me. It gives me great pleasure to express my overwhelming gratitude to my beautiful wife of 25 years, Ashmal, for her support and encouragement throughout my career. I would also like to thank my daughter Adharta and son Raúl for their support, as well as being my motivation for success. I would also like to pay tribute to my father and mother who passed away in 1980 and 1993 respectively, and to acknowledge that their absence has moti- vated me to overcome the many obstacles that I have encountered in my life. I would further like to pay special tribute to my mom, who, despite being a widow for many years, toiled hard as a clothing factory worker to provide us with a decent living and a quality education. The biggest lesson that I learnt from her is to practice forgive- ness and to treat everyone with respect and dignity, especially those who are less fortunate. I live by these principles daily, as they ensure lasting and good relations with almost everyone with whom I interact. A hearty thanks to my late brother Asish, my brother Sashi, as well as my sister Shabnam, and their spouses, all of whom who have supported me and encouraged me in my pursuit of education and achieving my goals. My gratitude also goes to the SAICE Durban Branch where I served in various portfolios and as chairman in 2013 and 2014. The experience that I gained there laid the foundation for my nomination to council, executive board, vice-president and now as president of SAICE for 2021. Finally, I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to my employer, Nyeleti Consulting, for their unwavering support of this presidency. In particular I would like to thank my previous CEO Dr Pine Pienaar, my current CEO Sundran Naicker, and the board of Nyeleti for their support of my involvement with SAICE. 2021 PRESIDENTIAL THEME When considering my presidential theme for 2021, there were many topics that came to mind, as we have been influenced by so much in the past year. However, I have for many years been very passionate about the advancement of gender inclu- sivity in the workplace and the influence of inspirational and transformational leadership thereon. In keeping with SAICE’s Growing Forward Together strategy, in which diver- sity and inclusivity is one of the areas of growth, I see myself getting more involved in the advocacy and implementation of best practices during my term of office. I will discuss this further on, but for now I would like for you to remember a phrase that I have coined for my presidency which many of you may be able to identify with, irrespective of gender: “Gender inclusivity is not about being accepted ; it is about being respected ”. THE IMPACTS OF COVID-19 The year 2020 will forever be remembered in the chronicles of history as the year that totally changed our outlook on life because of the coronavirus. The current Covid-19 pandemic has claimed more than 2.2 million lives worldwide and infected over 110 million people*. This number is rising daily, mainly due to the second wave hitting the continents of Europe and the Americas, and now South Africa. In South Africa alone, more than 48 000 people have died due to the virus, out of the more than 1.4 million confirmed cases*. We as South Africans need to be very vigilant as we experience a massive surge of cases during this second wave. It is going to be some time before we have a full recovery from the effects of the virus, even with a vaccine which is expected to be released within the next few months. I want to take this opportunity to thank the frontline medical staff who con- tinue to risk their lives to treat and save those infected with the virus. I would also like to show gratitude to the individuals who work in the supply and value chains as well as cashiers and supermarket employees. These are the unsung heroes who rose up to the challenge when they were called to duty to serve the nation. We salute you! Pursuing inspirational and transformational leadership in civil engineering Vishal Krishandutt SAICE President 2021