Focus on the positive!
As we get close to the end of the year and each and every one of us is planning for the next, trying to make sense of the year we have just gone through, the SAISC would appreciate your input. We have just reviewed our strategy for the next six months and we hope to add more value to our members. Please keep an eye out for the annual report and give the strategic plan a read through.
For those of you who are not in favour of reading through long documents, the idea is to be proactive and positive, focus on competitiveness, grow the “market”, substitute imports and grow exports. Sounds easy, I know.
We were overly pessimistic in the first half of the financial year (July-December 2017), where significant political risks and uncertainty were the order of the day. Conversely, we were and optimistic in the second half, as years of corruption and mismanagement of the S.A economy will take much longer than we thought to unwind. There have been significant company closures, consolidations and associated job losses which are deeply concerning.
There are some green shoots after the jobs and investment summits but most of us feel that we may have to wait until after the 2019 elections before we see a real shift in market demand and a return to growth in steel consumption.
A small number of courses were offered this year thanks to Amanuel Gebremeskel, Hennie de Clercq at the University of Stellenbosch and Dr Geoff Krige. We hope to support and continue these initiatives. We are looking very carefully on how we can make it easier to reach our engineering and professional members using technology. Education and training remain key objectives of the institute with the results often seen in the future. We are planning on bringing Spencer back to lecture the famous “SAISC estimating course”. If you are interested please get in touch with us so we can make sure you receive the invite for early next year.
Research development and innovation remain key to ensuring that our industry remains competitive and relevant. We managed to get some really innovative research done with the help of the universities but it is imperative that we find a way to restore proper funding to develop skills and foster innovation.
I was recently at the Mandela Mining Precinct where a competition was launched to create a new innovative rock drill which is manufactured entirely in South Africa. The SAISC and its members should work with other industries to assist in their localization and innovation projects and we should think about introducing similar competitions of our own. ( www.isidingodrill.co.za )
I would like to thank the SAISC and sub-association staff, board, council and committee members for their support during the year. The next few years will be challenging and I expect a number of changes for the better.
