The Civil Engineering Contractor June 2019 | Page 34

PROFILE
the World Cup and also co-ordinate
other roads authorities in terms of
infrastructure they needed to develop
in preparation for the World Cup.
I was also responsible for logistics,
accommodation and hospitality.
It was a mammoth task: we had
a budget of around half a billion
rands on which we were able to save
R100-million. From there I
moved into ICT (information and
communications technology) as
executive for strategy at Sizwe IT
Group. I needed a change from roads,
infrastructure and football. It turned
out to be a good move considering
the current convergence between
engineering and ICT.
Thereafter, I was appointed CEO
of the Johannesburg Roads Agency
(JRA), responsible for 10 000km of
roads in Johannesburg. That was a
task and a half. Johannesburg had
suffered significant under-investment
in infrastructure and a lot of its
road network was falling apart.
The budget was meagre and the
agency had over-expanded and was
technically insolvent. By the time I
left, the budget was significant and
it experienced a clean audit for the
first time.
Part of the success in my tenure there
included:
• Developing a clear road surfacing
programme
• Clarifying the road rehabilitation
programme
• Understanding the challenge with
bridge infrastructure in the city
that needed to be improved
• Writing a clear asset management
strategy
• 
Understanding the condition
of road infrastructure in
Johannesburg
• 
Strengthening the partnership
with SANRAL for the City to
work with SANRAL and benefit
from the SANRAL infrastructure.
We asked SANRAL to help
with road condition surveys;
subscribed to their integrated
transport infrastructure system
so that when we did our surveys,
we were able to upload info into
32 | CEC June 2019
the system and download it for
better planning
• Developing a 10-year road plan
for the city
I was then appointed CEO of
Electronic Toll Concessions (ETC),
an agency that runs the e-toll system,
at which point I was appointed to
succeed former CEO, Nazir Alli, after
18 years at the helm. This is now my
third year.
CEC: You seem like a guy who
likes to clean up a mess. Why
is that?
SK: In contrast, I always say I would
like to walk into an organisation that
has no problems so I can do what I do
best, which is helping organisations
‘transcend’. Part of the reason I was
not bogged down in construction
sites was because early in my career I
saw my role in executive management
driving strategy. I’m a strategy expert:
I’ve developed strategy everywhere
I’ve been and have honed that skill
over time.
For instance, our award-winning
Horizon 2030 was done internally, we
didn’t employ anyone from outside
to assist. SANRAL was awarded the
most visionary client by Consulting
Engineers South Africa (CESA) in
2018. The clarity of vision has been
seen by industry. We did more than
40 national consultations for both
Horizon 2030 and the transformation
policy. There was not one negative
comment on Horizon 2030, just
support. We did get a lot of feedback
on transformation policy, owing to its
controversial set-up. However, we are
trying to rattle an industry that has
resisted change for many years, and it
makes people uncomfortable.
CEC: Did you evolve into a
strategic role or did you study
for it?
SK: It was a clear and strategic
decision I took early in my career.
When I finished my undergraduate
degree as a civil engineer, I went to
the CSIR because they had sponsored
me and I did the mandatory five years.
As I did so, I realised that it didn’t
have a plan as an engineer, once I
asked for assistance with training and
to gain experience and exposure. I
knew I didn’t want to be stuck on site
with a hard hat and boots. I decided
executive management is what I want
to do and focus on strategy.
From then on the development of
my career was structured, and I knew
exactly what I wanted to achieve
and that’s the journey I’ve travelled.
I made it a point to understand
financial management, strategy,
auditing, the legal fraternity, contract
management, people management
and so on. I’ve made highly structured
progress: I’ve served in boards early
on; I got my first degree in 1997 and
the first board I sat on was in 2001.
I’ve been on boards ever since which
has helped me gain a bird’s eye view
of the stewardship of companies, the
importance of governance and how
they come together.
I completed a fellowship in
2001 that was awarded by the
International Council for Building
and Construction (CIB) located in
France, which I could do anywhere
in the world. I chose the University
of Florida where I was following a
certain professor and conducted my
research in sustainable construction,
construction and demolition waste
management. It put me in contact
with people globally who were
leading that particular research area.
Those were the origins of my Master’s
degree, which I then came back and
wrote with Wits University.
CEC: What is the most memorable
project of your career?
SK: When I was in the KZN
department of transport in the
Qhudeni area of Nqutu, we
developed, in partnership with
the provincial roads department, a
9km stretch of road. When we first
drove this route it took close to
two hours, the surface was terrible.
Within the community, there was a
dilapidated school where kids were
being taught under very difficult
conditions, the school badly needed
repairs that couldn’t be done because
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