The 5th International Conference on Infrastructure Development in Africa, hosted by the University of Johannesburg (UJ), in collaboration with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana; and Bells University of Technology, Ogun, Nigeria, will explore the sustainable practices in development and procurement for large infrastructure projects.
On Monday 11 July at 11am, the Honourable Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Malusi Gigaba, will be a keynote speaker at the conference.
The two-day conference (11 and 12 July 2016) will see academia and industry examining best practices for the development in Sub-Saharan Africa at UJ’s Bunting Road Campus. Dr Ismael Vadi, MEC for Roads and Transport Gauteng Province will be the Guest Speaker at the Gala Dinner on 11 July. The media is invited to attend the conference and the dinner.
According to the Chairperson of the Johannesburg Development Agency and Professor in UJ’s Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying, Prof Prof Didibhuku (Wellington) Thwala, the majority of infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa are financed and managed by aid organisations outside the continent.
“In contrast to this, Africa’s impressive economic performance in the last decade has rekindled hopes for the continent’s future as an important player in the global economic landscape,” says Prof Thwala.
“To become that global player, Africa faces a serious challenge: ensuring that growth leads to progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for inclusive, transformative, sustainable development that reduces income poverty, creates decent jobs, enhances the quality of and access to social services, reduces inequality and promotes resilience to climate-related hazards, and much more to its regional integration,” he adds.
“Rather than being dependent on external aid, Sub Saharan Africa needs to finance its own infrastructure development projects. In addition, we need to deliver our own contracting management on large projects, such as translating a project plan into a procurement strategy which includes tenders; achieving transparent procurement across the lifetime of a project; and effective monitoring of multi-year projects,” says Prof Thwala.
Speakers at the conference include
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Prof Didibhuku (Wellington) Thwala from the UJ Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying; Chairperson of the Johannesburg Development Agency; and member of the Gautrain Board. |
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Prof Pantaleo Rwelamila from the UNISA Graduate School of Business Leadership; who is also a non-executive Director and board chairman of Msingi Construction Project Management (Pty) Ltd – a construction project management company based in Cape Town; and co-owner and director of an engineering consultancy in Botswana. |
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Mr Uwe Putlitz, CEO of the Joint Building Contracts Committee South Africa, a non-profit company which provides the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and national, provincial and local authorities in South Africa with appropriate building contracts, implementation forms and application guides to manage the building process fairly and competently. |
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Prof Fidelis Emuze, Head: Unit for Lean Construction and Sustainability at the Central University of Technology (CUT), Bloemfontein; with experience as a Project Engineer for a private contractor in Nigeria and as a Construction Engineer for Murray and Roberts Construction (Pty) in South Africa. |
UJ hosts the conference in collaboration with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana; and Bells University of Technology, Ogun, Nigeria.
