David Botha, formerly Executive Director, SA Institution of Civil Engineering, has been instrumental in putting civil engineering on the map in South Africa, as well as raising the South African Institution of Civil Engineering’s (Sace) stature internationally.
When Botha, a civil engineer, took up the post at Sace, he saw it as a vehicle to get engineering noticed and took whatever opportunities were available to do so. These included articles, engaging with media, presentations and international collaboration. He has also been involved in numerous interactions with government ministers.
“It is about taking the message of the essential role that infrastructure plays, and that engineering is instrumental to a modern world,” says Botha. “Infrastructure needs to be designed, maintained and operated in the right manner, and people need to be trained properly.”
As part of an outreach programme, Botha would go to towns to assist local authority councils. He also went to schools to share his passion for engineering and the built environment profession. (Built includes fields such as architecture, town planning and civil engineering.) He says talking to the youth about engineering goes beyond awareness of career opportunities, it means educating people to make informed decisions when presented with engineering and built environment issues.
Through the Africa Engineers Forum which he established, he became a member of the Capacity Building Forum under the World Forum of Engineers. Along with his international colleagues, he produced a book ‘Guidebook for capacity building in the engineering environment‘.
“My big concern is that, in spite of all efforts, politicians still have a long way to go regarding understanding the role of the built profession, especially engineers. Government has definitely come to the party but it’s still not enough. There is always a new influx of councillors who don’t know enough about this environment and it’s essential knowledge for making the right decisions,” says Botha.
This article originally appeared in the Mail & Guardian newspaper as an advertorial supplement