EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
13
CDAA members meeting
in November
The Copper Development Association Africa (CDAA) held its
last members meeting for 2017 on 23 November.
By Dineo Phoshoko
On the agenda for the meeting was an opening
address from the chairperson, Evert Swanepoel,
and an update from Levine Warries, centre director,
on the association’s projects. Also included on the
agenda was a discussion on the European Copper
Institute (ECI) by CEO Bernard Respaut. Lastly, well-
known South African cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro
addressed the audience.
Swanepoel started off proceedings by welcoming
all members present at the meeting. During his
address, Swanepoel highlighted the CDAA’s expanding
membership, with members from southern African
countries Zambia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe joining.
After the opening address, Warries followed with an
update on the progress of the CDAA’s projects since May
2017. First up was an update on the aquaculture project
where the finfish growth trials were completed. Trials
took place in both marine and freshwater environments.
Warries explained that marketing of aquaculture was to
take place from 2018.
The CDAA is working on projects that will continue
throughout 2018. One of them is the water tests with
assistance from one of the CDAA members, Thos Begbie,
and Professor Shaheen Mehtar. Warries also mentioned
the CDAA’s partnership with Open Trade Training Centre
(OTTC). According to her, the training centre will be
beneficial to all HVAC training technicians. In addition,
the centre will serve as a networking platform for the
CDAA in the HVAC industry.
Over the years, the CDAA established important
relationships with different organisations, such as
government, the Electrical Contracting Board of South Africa
(ECBSA), and the Institute of Plumbing South Africa (IOPSA).
Warries concluded the update by explaining that the CDAA’s
relationship with the organisations would continue into
2018. The association was also very proactive in attending
industry events, such as Eskom’s young scientists awards
evening and the Federation of Infectious Diseases Societies
of Southern Africa (FIDSSA) conference.
www.plumbingafrica.co.za
Respaut was up next and he discussed important activities
of the institute and its planned three-year plan. Respaut was
headhunted to join ECI in January 2017. He is responsible
for leading a team of experts in Africa and Europe.
IMPORTANT ACTIVITIES OF ECI
The ECI consists of 36 people spread across nine offices
in Europe. The institute has three main categories of
activities that are prioritised: market development, public
affairs, and administration. Each year, the institute is
provided with an annual budget of R150-million to spend
on the identified activities.
Respaut explained that 73% of the budget is spent on
market development, which entailed looking at new
opportunities for copper to be used. Also included in
market development was energy policies and efficiency
standards — essen