Gill Marcus, takes over as Governor of the Reserve Bank in November 2009

Newly appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank, takes over from Mboweni in November 2009. But exactly who is Gill Marcus? orn in 1949 to parents that were doing active African National Congress (ANC) work, she grew up in Johannesburg and then went to study for a BCom degree with the University of Witwatersrand. She resumed work with the ANC in 1970 when she worked for the party's Department of Information and by 1976 she had become the editor of the ANC's weekly bulletin. Her years in exile were spent clipping South African newspapers for the ANC, discussing radical politics and making sandwiches in Knightsbridge's best lunchtime hangout.

Unexpected drop in civil confidence suggests tougher civil industry conditions alongside poor building industry performance

The FNB civil confidence index dropped 20% from an index value of 60 in the 1^st quarter of 2009 to 48 in the 2^nd quarter, as procurement for new work become increasingly more difficult.  This adversely affected margins and profitability in the industry and of greater concerns is the fact that respondents are expecting conditions to worsen in the 3^rd quarter. Subsequently job losses in the civil industry have now also started to increase.

Source FNB

Construction Monitor June 2009

Outlook for building industry remains poor as private sector moves away from building construction activity. Fewer and fewer square metres are approved for building construction, which means the building industry will experience extremely difficult conditions for the remainder of 2009, into 2010. Although the FNB building confidence index was temporarily boosted by lower interest rates, this is believed to be short lived as pipeline work continues to diminish. Industry Insight's critical success factor index, an index that includes two key ingredients necessary to stimulate investment, have shown signs of improvement, but may only have a meaningful impact on actual investment in the second half of 2010. Turnover in the civil engineering industry is expected to grow by a much slower 5,7% in 2009, according to the Aggregates & Sand Producers Association of South Africa (ASPASA) and the Southern African Readymix Association (SARMA).  According to an article published by Engineering News, the decline in the building industry has now also spilled over to the civil industry. In line with a review of state owned enterprises capital expenditure, announced by Eskom, ACSA and Transnet, spending on infrastructure is likely to slow to more moderate single digit figures. There was a lot of talk of Green Building in June 2009 as the Green building rating system gains momentum.  The Green Building Rating Systems promote the construction of better buildings - better for the environment, the owner and the occupant. These systems, attempt to consider as many relevant factors as possible. Many factors, such as durability, are to be incorporated into these building rating systems. These factors can significantly influence a building's environmental impact and should be incorporated at the building design phase.   Watch out for our second focus forum, scheduled for August 2009, where we will look at the impact of green building and the changing demands on construction materials design and manufacturing.

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