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Industry matters
Crying out for skills
As we move to achieve the UN’s post Millennium
Development Goals, it has been proved repeatedly that the
lack of skills is a major stumbling block: we need trained and
skilled professionals.
By Rory Macnamara
I have read through the National Water Resource
Strategy (NWRS) that the former Department of
Water Affairs developed and published in 2013,
which the new Department of Water and Sanitation
is now driving. It is good to note that by identifying
areas where water can best be used and managed,
the department acknowledges the need for qualified
people. The continued use of good governance,
referencing standards and regulations, and working
with the private sector are all encouraging and
much needed practices.
The theme of the recent World Plumbing Conference
held in Cape Town on 15 and 16 September 2016
was “Regulations for sustainable plumbing — a case
for international standards”, which tackled this very
issue. The outcomes of the conference sessions will be
recorded in this and future issues of Plumbing Africa, as
well as Water, Sewage & Effluent. But the main point is
that badly written regulations produce poor standards.
This idea emerged beyond a doubt from the conference:
standards need a rethink and should be incorporated into
one practical document to avoid contradictions and to
move beyond vested interests.
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The core objectives of the NWRS are that:
• Water supports development and elimination of
poverty and inequality;
• Water contributes to the economy and job creation;
and
• Water is protected, used, developed, conserved,
managed, and controlled both sustainably and
equitably.
All of these objectives have workable strategic themes
and execution points.
The issues that need the greatest attention now if any
of the other issues are to be addressed successfully
comprise research and innovation, as well as water
sector skills and capacity.
November 2016 Volume 22 I Number 9
As the country (and indeed the continent) moves to
fulfil the post Millennium Development Goals, it has
been proved over and over again that the lack of
skills is South Africa’s major stumbling block — we
need trained and competent professionals. Importing
engineers from a foreign country and not registering
them with the Engineering Council of South Africa is
a slap in the face for South African engineers. The
complaint that South African engineers will not or
cannot work for the department is a load of nonsense.
Likewise, for plumbers, if unqualified people perform
the tasks for which they are not trained, it doesn’t take
a rocket scientist to figure out that the installation will
not end well.
So the recognition of plumbing skills must incorporate
the Institute of Plumbing South Africa (IOPSA) and the
Plumbing Industry Registration Board (PIRB). The opening
paragraph of the NWRS on Skills and Capacity says it all:
“The NWRS argues that, strategies to give effect to the
provisions of the National Water Act will not be effective
if there are too few competent people available to
implement them. It is imperative to ensure that sufficient
capacity is created in the water sector to implement
and sustain the implementation of water policy and
legislation.”
No-one can argue against that — but will it be done? It
must be done, or we will face the effects of being without
water! PA
The outcomes of the
conference sessions
will be recorded in this
and future issues of
Plumbing Africa, as
well as Water, Sewage
& Effluent.
www.plumbingafrica.co.za