It’s not too often that we have held our annual conferences in this part of the country. This was due partly to the fact that we did not have a branch in this region. We have since made a decision that this situation must change. This transformation was initiated last year when we visited Bloemfontein, conducted one of our executive meetings and had an interesting visit to the Boyden Observatory where we viewed the stars.

Viewing the stars was more of a vision for me, highlighting the fact that the sky is the limit and that growth of the Institute in this region was possible. This dream is materialising and today we will confirm the establishment of our Free State and Northern Cape Branch.

So, to all the municipal engineers in this region - your home as come to you. Come in and share in this great Institute for a profound experience of knowledge sharing and promoting excellence in municipal engineering - for the benefit of yourselves, IMESA and your communities.

It is at this stage that I would like to thank the organising committee with Mr Gerard Fritz as the main convenor, Marianne Oosthuizen, Adri de Vos and the team for what promises to be a great conference. The absence of a fully-fledged branch poses problems of its own, but we can confirm today that those problems have been overcome and we are all positive that the memory of our experiences in Bloemfontein this year will linger on, for many years to come. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. Next  ...