Water, Sewage & Effluent July August 2018 | Page 28

Bribery around sales by established pump manufacturers is smothering smaller players in South Africa.
Pumped up
Gert Schwaecke shares his observations about poor pump
procurement practices.
By Kim Kemp
E
rnest Electro Engineering, a
Johannesburg-based company,
prides itself in providing a vital
service to mining, agriculture,
hospitals, fish hatcheries, offshore
oil rigs, schools, sport and recreation
facilities, and tourism, through its
varied service offering and many
years of knowledge gained in the field.
Gert Schwaecke is the owner of
Ernest Electro Engineering and has,
over time, developed strong opinions
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around what he sees as corruption
and unethical collaboration within the
pump-related industry in which the
company operates.
“The problem in this country is
that the person who is in charge of
buying [pumps] has no clue as to
what they are buying,” he says with
emphasis. “They don’t have any
technical knowledge whatsoever.” He
stresses that, while this phenomenon
is “countrywide”, he is referring
Water Sewage & Effluent July/August 2018
specifically to his personal experience
within the field.
Schwaecke explains that what
he is witnessing is a focus around
price as opposed to quality: “They
[procurement departments] have a
budget to adhere to and if they can
get pumps at a cheaper price, it is on
this that they’re basing their purchase.
C h e a p i s u g l y, ” h e a d d s w i t h
contempt. “They satisfy their bosses
with finding a cheaper product, which