MINISTER FACILITATES WOMEN PARTICIPANTS IN AESAP

ZULWINI – Minister of Public works and Transport Chief Ndlaluhlaza Ndwandwe wants more women involved in construction and the council of Architects, Engineers, Surveyors and Allied Professionals (AESAP).

The minister mentioned this last week, during the official unveiling of the 3rd board of directors for AESAP. Ndlaluhlaza said the business sector is lacking the participation of women, which has in turn affected the construction sector. “There are less women involved in AESAP and construction sectors, which is a challenge as we aim to increase their participation,” he said. The minister urged women who are qualified skilled professionals relating to construction and AESAP industry to avail themselves, as the numbers were not increasing.

Active

AESAP Chief Executive Officer Lwazi Mthimkhulu said they currently had about 12 per cent active women in the council. In an interview with this publication, Mthimkhulu said they currently have two professional associations affiliated to AESAP namely: Eswatini Association of Indigenous Construction Consultants (Imvukuzane) and Eswatini Association of Architects, Engineers and Surveyors (EAAES).  “At the moment according to the AESAP Register we have the following number of registered females in the qualifying categories for eligibility for appointment in the council depending on their status and membership in their respective associations, is one female engineer, one geologist, 0 architects, two quantity surveyors, 13 allied professionals. “That’s 16 out of 138 registered professionals. That’s about 12 per cent,” said the CEO. Mthimkhulu also mentioned that one of the AESAP’s strategic goals is to Advocate for a more conducive environment for registered professionals.

Body

He said their objectives under this strategic goal was to promote the establishment of a women’s body, that would facilitate the participation of women professionals and people with disabilities, hence their recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Women in Engineering (WomEng).
He added that according to the two Chairpersons of the associations Sandile Makhubu (EAAES) and Bhekisisa Mavimbela (Imvukuzane) the council members are nominated amongst the executives of the associations and there aren’t many females that are actively involved and are part of the executive.

Challenges

The CEO also mentioned that one of their challenges has been regulating a previously unregulated industry and failure in some quotas to appreciate the existence of AESAP and its mandate. He said Some parastatals and companies are still refusing to comply with the establishing Act as they claim they are not part of the built environment and therefore do not see the need to comply with the AESAP Act. “This misconception is as a result of the AESAP Council/Board coming from the construction industry, as they are nominated for appointment by the Minister of Public Works by the local professional associations coupled with the fact that AESAP is a result of a privately financed bill by the construction industry of Eswatini,” he said.
Mthimkhulu also mentioned that they have not had a council in office since August 2021, due to reasons that were beyond their and the ministry’s control, and applicants were getting impatient as they have been sitting with applications for over a year now.

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