Siseko Njobeni

Trade and Industry Correspondent

PUBLIC Works Minister Stella Sigcau is anxious about delays in the development of the construction industry’s charter.

In a speech read on her behalf at the construction industry’s conference in Sun City, North West, yesterday, Sigcau said that the industry had to finalise the charter "with very little delay" for the document to come into effect in January as planned.

About a year ago, Sigcau said the industry would develop its own charter, following in the footsteps of others such as mining, financial services and tourism.

The charter seeks to increase the participation of black individuals in the industry, which contributes 2,5% to gross domestic product.

At the announcement of the charter’s development in October last year, Sigcau gave the industry until July to finish a draft.

"Two months after the deadline, I am still anxiously waiting," she said yesterday.

The executive director of the South African Federation of Civil Engineer Contractor, Henk Langenhoven, yesterday attributed the delay to issues including proposals that construction firms buy 70% of their material from black-owned entities immediately. The current figure is 12%. The proposal was unrealistic at present, he said.

South African Association of Consulting Engineers CEO Graham Pirie said the industry was experiencing falls in the numbers of both new and existing professionals.