Civil Engineering May 2022 | Vol 30 No 4

Civil Engineering May 2022 35 practices, which rely on extortion to ensure certain connected businesses and indi- viduals receive a disproportionate share of the project works, and measures to combat them ought to be front of mind to anyone embarking on project works. In a recent example, the developers of a large-scale private hospital in the greater Johannesburg area took steps to ensure that the immediate community enjoyed visible benefits during the construction period, such as jobs and procurement, which helped to provide security against intervention by less savoury elements. Multinational companies operating in South Africa must balance their local and corporate obligations in creating these opportunities. Companies with US or UK parents are subject to anti-bribery legisla- tion that requires due diligences to be performed before appointing contractors or third parties. There have been numerous examples of social opposition to or community protests around construction projects in South Africa, often because locals have not experienced the job opportunities they expected. Recently, Amazon in Cape Town had to stop work on its new local head office after objections by indigenous communi- ties that they had not been consulted. As desirable land becomes less available for development, the onus on developers of new projects to check prior claims is intensifying. GOVERNANCE Sometimes, systemic failures and checks and balances built into selection procedures fail to pick up inappropriate and sometimes illegal conduct because of lack of oversight or the complexity of commercial crimes. This can result in costly litigation and the cancellation of contracts. A recent example was the setting aside by the Special Tribunal of two software licence contracts, signed in 2015 and 2016, between the Department of Water and Sanitation and global software giant SAP. The Special Investigating Unit found no needs analysis had been conducted, there was no budget for this purchase, and the payments were not approved. In a second example, an independent report has recommended that the contract awarded to Thalami Civils, which built the shoddy Lesseyton Stadium for a tender amount of R15 million, be set aside. To address issues such as these, it is possible for contracting entities to put in place governance structures that are proactive and industry-specific. It is also essential that building and engineering firms that win contracts check whether, and are comfortable that, a proper pro- curement policy and process was followed prior to starting work on a project.  There have been numerous examples of social opposition to or community protests around construction projects in South Africa, often because locals have not experienced the job opportunities they expected. • Precast concrete plasticising admixtures • Ready-mixed concrete plasticising admixtures • Extended workability polymers • Set retarding admixtures • Hardening accelerators • Viscosity modifying admixtures • Form release agents • Synthetic fibres • Pozzolan-activity mineral additions • Permeability-reducing admixtures • Water-repelling admixtures • Anti-washout admixtures • Expanding agents • Drying shrinkage-reducing admixtures • Clay mitigating admixtures • Pumping aides • Air entraining and foaming agents • Concrete rescue packs • Evaporation-retarding admixtures TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION IN THE CONCRETE INDUSTRY STARTS WITH MAP PRODUCTS. Learn more at mapei.co.za Tel: +27 11 552 8476 Email: info@mapei.co.za