BuaNews (Tshwane)
Kagiso Metswamere
6 February 2008
Mafikeng — Construction experts from Cuba have been deployed in the North West to assist in addressing the province's skills shortage in the building sector.
A group of 51 Cuban experts arrived in South Africa in January following the signing of an Agreement between South African Minister of Public Works Thoko Didiza and Cuban Minister of Construction, Fidel Segeroa de la Paz, in July 2007.
The agreement entailed South Africa employing Cuban technical advisors in the fields of architecture, engineering, project management and other fields in the building and property industries.
Departmental spokesperson Matsube Mfoloe told BuaNews on Tuesday that the Cubans would mentor and transfer skills to local professionals while speeding up the implementation of current projects in the construction sector.
"We are expecting the Cuban group to start their duties as soon as they arrive here on Saturday and we expect them to make a big difference as far as skills are concerned.
"The group will help fast-track building projects which are headed by our department in order to accelerate service delivery," Mr Mfoloe said.
Public Works MEC Jerry Thibedi said the arrival of the Cubans in the province was viewed with "great optimism".
"We are confident that they will help us meet our acute needs for skilled artisans in most of our projects.
"Their contribution will add more value as we march to achieve our mandate and carry the flag high as an award winning department in the province," the MEC said.
In January, the minister said South Africa had always been aware that it could bank on a mutually beneficial relationship with the Cubans.
"The Cubans understand the responsibility they carry in the country and do not see it as a bargain but responsibility for building humane in the world," said Minister Didiza.
She said recruiting these experts is one way of dealing with the crisis of lack of skilled artisans to carry out all the massive infrastructure projects.
"At the launch of Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition [JIPSA], Deputy President Phumzile-Mlambo-Ngcuka formally declared a skills crisis with particular reference to the type of skills required by built [building] environment professions," said Ms Didiza.
She said the 10 percent per annum growth rate in the building sector was unfortunately being hobbled badly by skills and capacity problems in terms of skilled personnel in the sector.
"The challenge is to get as quickly as possible the largest numbers of skilled artisans and professionals into the sector and that is why we believe that the arrival of these Cuban technical advisors will help us to achieve quick wins in the short term and create a base skilled professionals for the long term," the minister said.
The Cuban technical advisors will be working on a three-year contract. Some advisors will remain in the head offices to impart skills and mentor interns.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 BuaNews. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
