At the inaugural Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium of SA, held in June 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that South Africa has received “firm commitment” for some of the country’s planned infrastructure projects. To ensure that these multibillion Rand projects become a springboard for economic recovery, financial specialists in the built environment are needed on all infrastructure projects, says Larry Feinberg, Executive Director of the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors.

“In order to ensure that the proposed construction projects are completedwithin deadlineand within budget there is no room left for cost overruns and squandered budgets,” warns Feinberg.

“Infrastructure development is at the center of South Africa’s stimulus plan,” says Feinberg.“With 276projects being proposed,billions of Rands in borrowed finance the country’s economic recovery at stake,government will need to take on new levels of cost control and financial management.” Quantity Surveyors are the financial, contractual and procurement experts in the built environment. They work with clients – in this case the client is government – and the design team to createthe program budget and procurement strategy.

Quantity Surveyors alsoplay a crucial role in preventing fraud and corruption by doing do tender analysis and evaluation andcontract management.They also conduct regular site evaluations to make sure that all the agreed work is completedbefore authorizing progress payments to contractors.

“Despite this, the appointment of a Quantity Surveyor has so far not been included inthe default process at the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI),” says Feinberg.

“This needs to change for these new infrastructure projects that are intended to kickstart the post-COVID economy.” While some decision-makers within the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) do insist on employing Quantity Surveyors on their projects, the same department is also notoriously understaffed in this role.The backlog of Professionally Registered Quantity Surveyors as well as the role of the Quantity Surveyor being executed by other role playerswithin the built environment are further exacerbating the problem.

Quantity Surveying is a specialised skill that requires a BSc degree or a national diploma in Quantity Surveying. After graduating the Quantity Surveyor needs to work towards becoming Professionally Registered. They can only become a Professional Quantity Surveyor (PrQS) once they candemonstrate that theyhas the competence and accountability that is needed to financially manage large,complex construction projects.

“There are simply not enough Quantity Surveyors employed at the Department of Public Works, municipalities and other public offices involved in infrastructure expenditure,” says Feinberg.”Thesmall amount of professional QS’s that actually are employed in the Department are simply overwhelmed at having to oversee the entire Department’s portfolio of immovable assets.”

“A single professional Quantity Surveyor is often responsible for more than 10 projects,and with the value of some these projects well into the billions of rands. 

Not employing additional experienced, registered Quantity Surveyorswill increase the government’s risk of substantial delays and cost overruns on infrastructure projects.”

“Pairing experienced andregistered professional Quantity Surveyors with younger candidate Quantity Surveyors will ensure that the desired skills transfer occurs during the construction of the new infrastructure projects. It would also help to bridge the gap created by the backlog of Professionally Registered Quantity Surveyors as well as serve the transformation and skills development goals of government,” says Feinberg.

“Appointing Quantity Surveyors will mitigate financial risk, ensure that the required infrastructure is developed based on sound engineering principles and quality construction, and that the expenditure is accurately accounted for, wisely spent, and that public funds are protected,” says Feinberg.

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