Exodus of engineers bleeds construction sector

The shortage of engineers in South Africa has had a huge impact on the construction sector and infrastructure development.

This is according to the chief executive of the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (Safcec), Webster Mfebe.

Unesco observed this week as Africa Engineering Week, throwing the spotlight on critical issues impacting the engineering sector.

In its landmark report on engineering in 2010, Unesco described engineering as a driver of social, economic and human development that underpinned knowledge societies and infrastructures.

But Mfebe said South Africa's failing infrastructure and the exodus of engineers meant that the country was regressing in terms of infrastructure development.

At municipal level the collapse of infrastructure was due to the disaster of operation. Instead of focusing on infrastructure investment, some municipalities rolled over budgets for the following years, he said.

South Africa was regarded as one of the most unequal countries and infrastructure development could be a catalyst in reversing the situation, Mfebe added.

He said there was only one engineer for approximately 300 000 people in the country as opposed to one engineer for 200 in Germany.

“South Africa needs to produce 10 times more engineers to compete with developed countries.”

In 2019 more than 110 engineering and technical skills were lost because of violent site disruption and in 2022 more than 90 companies had closed their doors as engineers looked for greener pastures in countries such as Ireland, the UK, the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan.

“The engineers who are leaving the country are experienced and skilled ones. We will be left with unregistered ones and who, if given opportunities, might pose a risk to public safety,” said Mfebe.

In an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the chairperson of the Western Cape Property Development Forum, Deon Van Zyl, raised concerns about the exodus and the government's co-operation with Irish companies, recruiting South African graduates in the construction and civil engineering sector.

Van Zyl said Ireland was building 33 000 new homes per year, and would be retrofitting 500 000 homes by 2030.

To achieve this, the country was recruiting “our construction and engineering professionals en masse”, he noted.

He added that the building and sustaining of effective infrastructure, whether roads, public facilities or educational institutions, had been the golden mean for economic stability.

“Yet, in South Africa, it seems that the provision of infrastructure remains a mirage in the distance that can never be reached,” Van Zyl said.

In a speech at the Africa Engineering Conference on September 25, Deputy President Paul Mashatile acknowledged that engineering was the backbone of any society and played a role in shaping infrastructure development and economic progress.