Civil Engineering January/February 2021 | Vol 29 No 1

Civil Engineering January/February 2021 9 The impact of the pandemic has been felt far and wide, and most countries around the world have entered a reces- sion, experiencing an economic decline not seen in recent times. In South Africa this has been one of the steepest declines in the economy since 1990. Sharp drops in production were seen across all the country’s main sectors, and the construction sector in particular has suffered immensely. The sector saw a drop of around 76% in the second quarter of 2020 compared to a drop of around 5% in the first quarter, which is quite staggering. Pursuant to the lack of growth in the last quarter of 2019, which the sector was still recovering from, the effects of Covid-19 have certainly compounded the negative economic effect on the country and the sector, and it is going to take a remarkable effort to recover from the un- derlying effects of an ailing economy and the coronavirus pandemic. The fact that both Moody’s and Fitch have downgraded our economy further into junk status does not bode well if we want to resuscitate our economy. TOWARDS RECOVERY In October 2020 President Cyril Ramaphosa unveiled the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, which will be supported by a R1 trillion investment in critical infrastructure over the next four years. This plan is centred around the need to restore fiscal sustainability, together with economic growth, through massive spending on in- frastructure, economic reforms, removal of regulatory barriers, and securing a sustain- able energy supply. With this plan the president foresees creating almost 800 000 employment op- portunities to circumvent the 2.2 million jobs that were lost between April and June when the economy shrunk due to the hard lockdown. SAICE, as a professional voluntary association and a learned society, needs to engage with the Investment and Infrastructure Office in The Presidency and other relevant government depart- ments to provide professional and technical guidance on the implementation of critical infrastructure projects and maintenance programmes that are of paramount importance. I am sure that when the investment values were announced by the president, many of us were asking whether corruption and malfeasance would overshadow the good work that is proposed in the imple- mentation of these projects, or whether government has learnt from the ills of the past, for example, in dealing with the Covid-19 corruption scandals. Another concern was whether government would ensure that adequate checks and balances are put in place to eradicate any wilful acts of corruption, nepotism and unethical behaviour by politicians, government officials and those in the private sector who normally facilitate this criminality. Only time will tell, but as SAICE we cannot stand back and be complacent. Our industry has been decimated. The lack of projects has all but destroyed the construction industry, and consulting engineering firms have retrenched hun- dreds of professionals. Many companies have either shut down, gone into business rescue, or had to look at turnaround strategies to survive during the pandemic. The only positive point we can take from here is that with hard work and commit- ment from all sectors of the economy, the situation can only improve. GENDER INCLUSIVITY The important topic of gender inclusivity is being widely discussed and debated in public forums, private and governmental organisations as well as on social media platforms. At SAICE we take this very se- riously and dealing with gender inclusivity is a top priority in line with our Growing Forward Together strategy. The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 5 deals with achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. The belief is that gender equality is not only a fundamental human right but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world. It is further supported by António Guterres, Secretary General of the UN, who said: “Gender equality is a question of power, power that has been jealously guarded by men for millennia. It is about an abuse of power that is damaging our com- munities, our economies, our environment, our relationships and our health.” He further notes that, “we must urgently transform and redistribute power if we are to safeguard our future and our planet. That is why all men should sup- port women’s rights and gender equality.” On a more positive note, and ac- cording to the UN’s report on gender equality, there has indeed been progress over the last few decades, with more women serving in senior parliamentary and leadership positions. Furthermore, discriminatory laws, processes and policies are constantly being changed or abolished to advance gender equality. Vishal Krishandutt delivering his presidential address at his inauguration