WC govt warns that 110 000 construction jobs are at risk

Master Builders’ Association Western Cape (MBAWC), has called on the government to heed the warning of the provincial government that more than 100 000 construction jobs will be lost this year if the sector is not allowed to resume business soon.

Allen Bodill, executive director of MBAWC, said the longer the industry remains dormant, the greater the financial losses will be for companies to bear.

“We have fielded innumerable desperate calls from industry workers, who have described their circumstances of real hardship, in not being able to purchase electricity or food,” Bodill said.

The Western Cape MEC for Finance and Economic Opportunities has requested that the national government allow the industry to expand operations beyond public sector engineering and construction, to include commercial, industrial and private residential construction.

Maynier in his submission to Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, warned that should the request not be acceded to, more than 110 000 jobs and R14.9 billion in wages would be lost in the industry this year.

Bodill said  National and Provincial authorities should fast-track the processing and approval of infrastructure projects currently in the pipeline, as this would boost jobs, not only in the industry but throughout the wider supply chain.

“Historically, infrastructure projects have been proven to boost economic recovery and create jobs during financial crises,” Bodill said. “Just think of the New Deal in the USA after the Great Depression.”

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