16 January 2012

Levelling the playing fields

Hennie Bester, president of the GMBAMaster builders associations have an important role to play in the “levelling of the playing fields” in the construction sector, says Hennie Bester, president of the Gauteng Master Builders Association (GMBA). 

Speaking at the GMBA annual presidential dinner in Johannesburg, Bester said the building sector was struggling as a result of the inability of government departments to roll out capital projects and with the shock of collusion in the industry also having severely dented the industry’s image.

“However, I believe these negative factors actually provide South Africa’s regional and national master builders associations with the opportunity to strengthen their position in the industry. The time is now right for master builders associations to take a leading role in the roll out and maintenance of services that are so urgently needed for a functional South African society. 

“There is, for example, much to be done to level the playing fields in South Africa and we, as building industry bodies, should lead the way by broadening our bases to include more future builders and previously disadvantaged builders in our associations.” 

Calling for a “total mind shift” in the industry, Bester said the GMBA aims to reach emerging contractors in a new drive to increase membership over the next few years. “We are currently also investigating how we can retain membership of emerging contractors as experience has shown that too many new members do not renew their membership after the first year. 

“We will also be creating more networking opportunities for members,” Bester said. “Issues like security of payment and those related to standard contracts are receiving attention at national level within Master Builders SA. 

“MBSA is now concluding its restructuring process and should then be well positioned to represent all the regional associations of master builders in interactions with all levels of government,” Bester added. 

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