By Khanyisa Khenese
To close Women’s Month, public works, infrastructure and human settlements MEC Siphokazi Lusithi together with other ministry stakeholders held the Women-in-Built breakfast meeting and post-policy speech engagement at Settlers Monument in Makhanda last week.
The event aimed to celebrate women in the construction industry and to assure women of the government’s priority to include and grow women in the industry.
Notable attendees included Nono Mtakatya, the provincial chairperson of the Construction Industry Development Board; Vuvu Gusha of HLFA Credit Corporation and Mbali Judy Mgudwa, regional chairperson of the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc) in the Sarah Baartman district; Nomfuneko Bojana, the provincial chairperson of South African Women in Construction and Weziwe Zondani.
The meeting served as a platform to discuss and converse about the role of women in the construction industry, especially in the Eastern Cape and to highlight gender inequality in the male-dominated construction field. Moreover, women were encouraged and celebrated for thriving and succeeding in the industry.
As South Africa rallies for transformation to build a country that fosters and favours gender equality and inclusivity in workplaces and within the government, in speaking with women, Lusithi said: “the GNU has stated that this is a key moment where the contribution of women is increasingly being recognized and celebrated across all sectors of society. But one thing remains in a traditionally male-dominated field like construction and engineering, the road to equality.
“But let us celebrate our success and most importantly come out with a clear way forward that will ensure that women are not just participants but leaders in the sector.”
Lusithi added that her department’s 2024/2025 policies committed to building infrastructure that will respond to people’s needs, especially women in construction as well as marginalized and vulnerable pupils.
Seeking to confirm that the department supported women in construction, young people and people living with disability, Lusithi said the human settlements department had made significant strides in their Human Settlement Development Grant (HSDG) budget. “The department increased 79% of its 2023/2024 financial year which benefited the designated group and in the same period young people benefited over 16% of the HSDG,” she said.
While in the department of public works and infrastructure, 19 women contractors were awarded projects worth R35m, 15 youth contractors received projects up to R307m, and 160 contractors were trained.
The provincial manager of the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), Mtakatya, spoke about the CIDB’s approach to transforming the construction industry to cater to women. He emphasized that they help contractors grow and support them through a national framework where development frameworks are implemented and framed for CIDB.
“The National Congress Development entangles contractors for not less than three years, make sure that they are given jobs and there’s a budget that is being allocated for them so that they can undertake projects.”
He added that CIDB has a skills development standard called Assessment of Prior Learning (APL) that assists CIDB in assessing contractors and checking their capabilities and capacities to take on projects provided to them and comply with the industry requirements.
He recommended that to ensure transformation in the construction industry, there should be a single body to assist women so that they are committed and there should be an aggressive rollout that will lock contractors in three to five-year contract arrangements where they will do rotational work to avoid competition amongst them.
The women in construction expressed their gratitude to Lusithi.
Mgudwa said: “We feel valued and important, thank you for empowering women and capacitating women, more especially in construction because when we see it as an industry for males, rest assured we are within.”
Bojana thanked both Lusithi and the president of South Africa for signing the Public Procurement Bill on 23 July. “Today we clap our hands because we have seen the bill that was signed by the president, that the sector side must be done more over to the women contractors. We want to thank your office for always remembering the SAWIC in your province.”
