EDITOR’ S COLUMN
What are YOU doing?
For many, 2016 is a year we’ d rather not talk about. Things were tough and the world seemed to fall to pieces – not just in our own political sphere but globally. And I’ m not just talking about Trump’ s election and the endless natural disasters and terrorist attacks …
But rather than dwell on this challenging year that unfortunately caused some businesses to close their doors, I’ d prefer that we look towards 2017. Too soon the new year has arrived again, bringing with it not just its own challenges – but also opportunities.
So rather than entering this year defeated, tailbetween-legs, I’ d like to suggest we grab it by the horns with( hopefully) new found energy after the industry shut down.
The choice is ours – we can decide to complain about the problems, or we can start doing something about them. Now I know it’ s easy to talk and things don’ t just happen overnight – but if industry doesn’ t take ownership and drive change, I have little faith government will take the lead.
Take student accommodation for example. We’ re all aware of the ever-increasing backlog and lack of adequate student housing across the country. We want more education for all – but where will all these new students live? The solution seems to be a partnership between industry, government and the universities – but this is much easier said than done. How do we start to address this issue? We talk to various industry role players about what has been done and what should be done in our student accommodation feature on page 19.
Make sure to also check out our building affordably with concrete feature on page 17. Just because you’ re trying to save money, doesn’ t mean you have to cut corners or compromise quality.
We also check out various affordable housing projects currently being developed across the country, so make sure to read our news section.
Okay, I’ m done‘ preaching’. But seriously though, let’ s pick ourselves up, file 2016 away as‘ experience’ and start the wheels of change churning in 2017.
The time is now!
Ilana Koegelenberg Editor ilana @ interactmedia. co. za
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