10 ASSOCIATIONS
From the Executive Director
Contributed by
Brendan Reynolds
“ It was the best of times , it was the worst of times , it was the age of wisdom , it was the age of foolishness , it was the epoch of incredulity , it was the season of light , it was the season of darkness , it was the spring of hope , it was the winter of despair .” Charles Dickens , A Tale of Two Cities .
Quoting from a book written centuries ago now may seem out of place , but it embraces many of the mixed feelings , all of us experience day to day .
Our beloved country has gone through all of these feelings and experiences that are building up due to load shedding , water infrastructure nearing collapse , water borne diseases featuring lack of maintenance of all our infrastructure – the list goes on and on . One may say we are , or have , reached “ our winter of discontent !”
Nonetheless , South Africans are resilient people , and we adapt as best as we can to the current situation . Our industry is no different as we leave 2023 behind us and start the new year with a positive mindset . Opportunities abound for plumbing to expand business , as well as being part of growing our industry . As more and more young people
Plumbing Africa
Brendan Reynolds .
enter Plumbing , us that have enjoyed this industry must help these youngsters grow as they are the future and “ the spring of hope .”
IOPSA will continue to support and encourage the role of plumbing and plumbers . We will seek to bring industry together so we can speak with one voice to the wider world that influences plumbing . Yes , between us we can agree to disagree but not when plumbing must address government , local authorities and businesses .
Over three decades , IOPSA has worked for plumbing and plumbers and will continue to do so . Here are some interesting figures showing our progress , perhaps showing “ the best of times ” over the last five years .
Our annual awards continue to improve and 2023 recognised the best of the best .
• People trained : 17 895
• Audits done : 31 348
• New members : 368
• Regional events : between 500 – 600
• Promotion : 3.5 million persons reached
• Staff increased from 5 to 18
• 781 complaints ( consumer ) handled satisfactorily
Let 2024 be “ the age of wisdom ” when we work together and recognise the important role played by everyone .
IOPSA is a body made up of our members : plumbing companies , plumbers , merchants , training bodies , manufacturers and suppliers ; as well as other bodies that we regard as strategic partners , whose membership and market position are like ours . We all make the industry . PA
www . plumbingafrica . co . za @ plumbingonline @ plumbingonline @ PlumbingAfricaOnline January 2024 Volume 29 I Number 11