Welcome to the Council for the Built Environment (CBE)
The Council for the Built Environment (CBE) was established as a statutory body by Parliament (Act 43 of 2000) to provide leadership to, and ensure good governance of the professions, while serving as a two-way channel for coordinated input, into the restructuring and development process, between the professions and Government.
The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB)
The Construction Industry Development Board (cidb) was established by Parliament (Act 38 of 2000) as a statutory body to provide leadership to stakeholders and to stimulate sustainable growth, reform and improvement of the construction sector for effective delivery and the industry's enhanced role in the country's economy.
The Board, which is responsible to the Minister of Public Works, comprises private and public sector individuals appointed by the Minister on the basis of their individual knowledge and expertise. The Board is supported by a professional and knowledge-based organisation, structured to drive the strategic objectives of the cidb.
The cidb's mandate is to provide strategic leadership, promote sustainable growth, promote improved performance and best practise, promote improved procurement and delivery management, and develop methods for monitoring and regulating the performance and registration of projects and contractors.
Knowledge Management and Monitoring and Evaluation are interlinked but are being managed as distinct functions until they can be mainstreamed in the IDT's business processes.
Knowledge Management covers the process of managing the information life cycle and includes the generation, collection, collation, storage, retrieval, dissemination, repackaging, utilization, archiving and disposal of information. It requires an efficient and effective coordination of information from internal as well as external sources, in order to provide the right and useful information, in the right form, at a correct cost, at the right time, in the right place such that it is available to users to arrive at correct decisions and actions.
The IDT's Knowledge Management function will initially focus on making tacit knowledge explicit. The IDT has developed and tested new models of development practice, which can be unpacked and documented and made available for sharing and replication. A balance will be maintained between collecting information and adding value by delivering it to users, and converting it into learning and knowledge supported by information technology.
This will position the IDT to become a vibrant learning and innovation hub, enhance organisational planning for service delivery and assist in the design of practical models that can contribute to the effective and sustainable eradication of poverty.
In order to support the IDT's shift in corporate strategy from outputs to development outcomes, the organisation will redesign its monitoring and evaluation systems and tools so that it is able to plan for, monitor and report on development outcomes. In addition, the organisation needs to articulate clear development performance indicators at the planning stage of its initiatives and establish baselines that enable it to measure performance objectively in each development initiative.
Ultimately, having strengthened its monitoring, evaluation and reporting internally, the IDT endeavours to offer this as a service to government - i.e. to monitor and evaluate government programmes and to generate credible reports which can add value to policy analysis and review.
The IDT believes that this integrated suite of service offerings will enable it to offer its shareholder a distinctive service. The IDT is explicitly mandated to be a redistribution agency. Redistribution will guide the IDT as it adapts its development practice to the second decade of democracy and maximises its contribution to eradicating poverty.
Agrément South Africa serves the national interest by being the internationally acknowledged, independent South African centre serving the building and engineering communities by providing assurance to specifiers and users via technical approvals for the fitness for purpose of non-standardised and/or unconventional products.
Agrément South Africa was established as an independent organisation by the Minister of Public Works in 1969. Its support structures bridge the public and private sectors, and include local and international professional and academic advisers. Agrément South Africa is internationally affiliated through its membership of the World Federation of Technical Assessment Organisations [WFTAO].
Agrément South Africa's primary business is the certification of non-standardised construction products, through technical assessments that verify whether the products and systems are fit for purpose.
Agrément South Africa serves the national interest by being the internationally acknowledged, independent South African Agency that serves the construction communities by providing assurance to specifiers, regulators, financial institutions and users.
It allows the benefits of innovation to be introduced into the market while minimising risk
The South African Constitution and Equity Act require that women be employed in all sectors of the economy. The South African President, Mr Thabo Mbeki again reflected on the importance of incorporating women in all sectors of the economy in his State of the Nation address this year. At present, however, women lack the capacity to compete in the market and yet have to clearly define what capacity building needs they have to effectively take part in business deals. Programmes from government like the Accelerated Growth Initiative of SA (Asgi-SA) are aimed at building the capacity of women and youth. SAWiC is aligning with government programmes such as Asgi-SA and JIPSA.
The South African Women in Construction (SAWiC) initiative was founded in 1997 to empower women to gain access to contracts, training, finance and networks in the construction industry. It originated from the DBSA Specialist Unit programme for Small Contractor Development at the time. The construction Industry role players, stakeholders and associations were gathered for a national workshop at the University of Pretoria on 11 June 1997 where the mandate was given for this initiative to go ahead with the main objective of empowering women in construction. Ever since women has had monthly information and training workshops at the Development Bank of Southern Africa to fulfill this objective.
The SAWiC Business Trust was launched on 23 August 1999 as a result of deliberations at the monthly workshops. The Late Minister of the South African Department of Public Works, Stella Sigcau, demonstrating government support to this initiative, delivered the keynote address. Six trustees were elected to administer the Business Trust to empower women to access contracts, training, finance and to expand their networks. The affiliation of SAWiC with NAWIC furthermore ensures access of these women to international literature, training programs, networks and best practice.
SAWiC in 2004 changed to become a Voluntary Association, acting on changes in the business environment and to better serve our members. SAWiC is not a stagnant entity but grows and is responsive to the changing environment in which it operates.
Women for Housing (WFH) facilitates opportunities for women involved in the housing sector. Through advocacy, training and support we aim to empower women to play a leading role in the field of housing.
WFH is a registered Section 21, Not for Profit, Company (Registration Number 1997/012810/08).
WFH is registered as a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) with the Department of Social Development
(021-454-NPO).
Women for Housing was formed in 1995 as an initiative of a few women who were concerned about women's access to housing opportunities as decision makers, economic participants, and consumers. For several years, WFH operated as a volunteer network with the vision that women would be able to seek and influence housing options, develop themselves as individuals and as a group, and develop economic opportunities as housing professionals and business owners.
Prior to the 1994 elections, opportunities for women of all races were limited in the fields of housing and business development. The advent of a new beginning in South Africa brought about the development of a new national plan for addressing the housing crisis, new programmes to promote entrepreneurship and small business development, and significantly widened the scope of possibilities for women in these areas. Organisations similar to Women for Housing simply did not exist - thus, Women for Housing was established.
In 2001, the current Executive Director and Board of Directors began to develop WFH to enable the organisation to play a greater role. Today, Women for Housing has carved a niche for itself and will continue to work closely with the government and various organisations to facilitate opportunities. Numerous opportunities exist within the housing sector, however there are gaps as well. We have developed our programmes to compliment and support those of government and other organisations. While we aim to identify information and existing opportunities to share, we also seek to bridge the gaps as well. It is our experience that a holistic approach to supporting women's involvement in housing is necessary.
In 1971, two Purdue undergraduate students, Edward Barnette (now deceased) and Fred Cooper approached the dean of engineering at Purdue University with the concept of starting the Black Society of Engineers (BSE). They wanted to establish a student organization to help improve the recruitment and retention of black engineering students. In the late 1960's, a devastating 80 percent of the black freshmen entering the engineering program dropped out. The dean agreed to the idea and assigned the only black faculty member on staff, Arthur J. Bond, as advisor.
Barnett served as the first president of the BSE. The fledging group gained momentum in 1974, with the direction and encouragement of Bond and the active participation of the young men whose destiny was to become the founders of NSBE. Now known as the "Chicago Six", these men are Anthony Harris, Brian Harris, Stanley L. Kirtley, John W. Logan, Jr., Edward A. Coleman, and George A. Smith.
Encouraged by their on-campus success, Anthony Harris, president of the Purdue chapter, wrote a letter to the presidents and deans of every accredited engineering program in the country (288), explained the Society of Black Engineers (SBE) concept and asked them to identify black student leaders, organizations and faculty members who might support their efforts on a national basis. Approximately 80 schools responded. Many had similar Black student organizations with similar objectives. A date was set for the first national meeting and 48 students representing 32 schools attended the event, held April 10-12, 1975. Harris also changed the organizations' nomenclature from the BSE to the Society of Black Engineers (SBE).
The torch symbolizes members' everlasting, burning desire to achieve success in a competitive society and positively affect the quality of life for all people. The lightening bolt represents the striking impact that will be felt by the society and industry due to the contributions and accomplishments made by the dedicated members of the National Society of Black Engineers.
NSBE has since grown from six to about 20,000 members and the annual meeting has blossomed into the Annual National Convention, hosting over 8,000 attendees. NSBE has 17 NSBE Jr. pre-college, 268 student and 50 alumni/technical professional chapters. Headquartered in Alexandria, Va., NSBE offers academic excellence programs, scholarships, leadership training, professional development and access to career opportunities for thousands of members annually. With over 2000 elected leadership positions, 12 regional conferences and an annual convention, NSBE provides opportunities for success that remain unmatched by any other organization.
South African Black Technical & Allied Careers Organisation
Since our founding in 1990, SABTACO has grown into a national organisation representing thousands of members in science and engineering disciplines.Our membership covers practitioners, graduates, technicians and students in the technical disciplines including:
Architecture
Project Management
Structure & Civil Engineering
Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial & Chemical Engineering
Urban Design, Town & Regional Planning
Land Surveying & Quantity Surveying
Property & Development Economics
Build Science
Hydrological & Geo-Technical
Metallurgical & Mining Engineering
Our Membership is categorized into public and private companies, practitioners and employees in the relevant technical disciplines. We also have student chapters in many tertiary institutions around the country.
SABTACO has active branches in all the nine provinces of South Africa; the process of creating strategic alliances with similar organisations globaly is on-going.
