Government currently owes construction and building industry contractors about R5.5 billion and recent business failures and job losses in the sector have been blamed on the non-payment or late payment of contractors. Roy Mnisi, executive director of Master Builders South Africa (MBSA), says this practice by government departments and government entities is the number one challenge facing the industry. Read: Construction industry in survival mode Mnisi says there has been no improvement in this area year-on-year, despite government ministers in the built environment and even President Cyril Ramaphosa talking about the…
Read MoreDay: 20 Sep 2019
Entrepreneur starts edible straws business to help the environment
DURBAN – Entrepreneur Leila Siljeur who is a second-year Chemical Engineering student at Stellenbosch University (SU) has bagged a massive cash prize for her edible straws business. Moved by a Facebook post of a sea turtle with a plastic fork stuck in its nose, Leila Siljeur (19) felt she had to do something to help reduce plastic pollution. She decided to design her own brand of edible and environmentally friendly straws. She won R50 000 for her invention in a recent Allan Gray Orbis Foundation National Jamboree. Her business which…
Read MoreThe SAISC Steel Awards celebrates diversity in South Africa’s steel construction industry
The 2019 entries for the SA Institute of Steel Construction (SAISC) Steel Awards contained an unprecedented level of diversity. This ranges from building type, size, ownership and construction/property value, from cost-effective to high-end. There has also been enormous diversity reflected in both the aesthetic and functional use of steel in construction: from light steel frame building, to metal roofing and cladding, and the use of heavy structural steel. The level of diversity this year is also reflected ‘behind-the-scenes’: in terms of age, gender, professional discipline and background of the many…
Read MoreSAPICS INSPIRES ASPIRING YOUNG SUPPLY CHAIN PROFESSIONALS
This year’s 5th annual Young Professional and Student Conference, hosted by SAPICS, The Professional Body for Supply Chain Management, was a resounding success, the organisers report. Held recently in Johannesburg, it attracted up and coming supply chain talent from around the country. SAPICS president Kea Mpane says that several universities were invited to send students to the one-day conference, including the Universities of South Africa, Johannesburg and Pretoria, North-West University, and the Tshwane and Vaal Universities of Technology. “The energy, enthusiasm and commitment of this year’s attendees was inspiring,” Mpane…
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