In conjunction with the Association of Consulting Engineers, formally known as SAACE, we conducted our first municipal excellence awards in Soweto. As you well know, these awards are presented biannually, and I am pleased to announce that we will be presenting these awards again this year, here in the sister city, Bloemfontein.

These awards are a token of our appreciation of the hard work done by municipal engineers throughout the year. They are structured in such a way that they provide adequate recognition of the successes of various municipalities. The aim of the excellence awards is to highlight the importance of engineering to our leaders and to motivate municipal engineering as a worldwide career to South African youth.

To this end, I would also like to thank SAACE, now known as Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA), for their role and partnership in making this venture a success. I hope that this relationship will continue and strengthen for many years to come, as it is for a worthy cause. To the CEO of CESA, Mr Graham Pierie and President Felix Fongoqa, thank you for your partnership and support. I know it took a lot of effort, time and resources to organise and for this I thank you. To our panel at IMESA, Jannie Pietersen, Johan Marx and the Durban team, thank you very much for your efforts in this regard. Next ...