INSIGHT
While South Africa sits with engineering capacity , Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation ( DWS ), Pamela Tshwete , has signed an agreement with Cuba ’ s Institute of National Hydraulic Resources ( INHR ) to extend the RSA- Cuba Cooperation agreement to 2023 . This decision has drawn ire from South Africa ’ s professional bodies , both the South African Institution of Civil Engineering ( SAICE ) and Consulting Engineers South Africa ( CESA ), who ask the same question : whether the Cuban technicians and engineers are registered as professionals with the Engineering Council of South Africa ( ECSA ) – a procedure that every South African technician , technologist and engineer has to undergo in order to obtain accreditation to be registered as a professional engineering practitioner ?
It seems however , that all stops are being pulled out to accommodate the Cubans , despite a multitude of challenges , including the cost of lodging , language and cultural differences . Back in 2015 , Minister of Water and Sanitation , Nomvula Mokonyane brought in 35 water engineers from Cuba , claiming that South African universities couldn ’ t produce engineers with their level of skills – a claim that was debunked shortly after the DA ’ s shadow minister of Water and Sanitation , Leon Basson , who told Fin24 , “ When I got that list of the engineers , we saw they were electricians , draftsman and engineers – skills South Africa has .” Nevertheless , in May 2017 , Mokonyane supported the decision to renew the agreement saying that , owing to the Cuban programme , black engineers who could not previously obtain accreditation in the water industry , could now be accredited . Presently , the Cubans ’ qualifications are not recognised by ECSA , but that has not stopped it from committing to prompt processing of the Cuban engineering applications , requesting to be recognised as professional specialists . On top of that , Mokonyane revealed that since 2015 , the number of Cuban engineers had decreased to 31 , but that their cost to the South African taxpayer
CEO of SAICE – Manglin Pillay .
had grown from R19.9-million to R31.2-million – in just one year . Deputy Minister Tshwete went so far to hail the Cubans as ‘ the best teachers in the field ’ with sought after skills , hired to ‘ help the country address its own water challenges , particularly now that old engineers are leaving the field ’ and Mokonyane has increased the Cubans ’ salaries by a staggering R11.1-million . This is an interesting note , given that Cubans face a daily battle for drinking water as the country is experiencing one of its worst droughts in 100 years , while news agency Aljazeera , reported in April this year that , despite the Cuban government providing drinking water , the shortages caused by the lack of rain were exacerbated by an aging and dilapidated infrastructure . ‘ More than 50 % of the available water is lost to a leaking drainage system and state water officials must manually change the flow of water in the pipes every day to ensure an equal water divide between houses and neighbourhoods ,’ the news agency reports . In addition , in 2013 , Times LIVE wrote , ‘ Cuba has massive water
CESA
Chris Campbell – CESA chief executive officer .
“ One hopes of course that they do not have the added impediments of a department such as we , alleged to be fraught with corruption , which persists with impunity , to make uninformed and ill-informed decisions that will haunt us for many years to come , long after they are all gone .” Chris Campbell – CESA
problems . According to the Canadian International Development Research Centre , its water and sanitation services have deteriorated badly , resulting in an increase in waterborne diseases .” And it is from these ‘ experts ’ that we are to learn about how to maintain and develop our water systems ? SAICE points out in a media statement around the issue that South Africa is signatory to the Sydney , Dublin and Washington Accords , which is dependent on a substantial peer-review system for professional registration with ECSA . This criterion affords South African engineering practitioners the opportunity to work extensively worldwide and specifically , in neighbouring states . Ever vocal , Manglin Pillay , CEO of SAICE , who comments with irony , “ Our engineers are world-renowned and very well recognised globally , but we don ’ t seem to be having the same favour here in South Africa !” He adds that South Africa has suitably qualified civil engineering practitioners , au fait with the challenges that the country faces and who are willing to assist the department in rural communities , and
26 - CEC January 2018