What We Do

Bridgebuilding

Bridgebuilding (as defined by Khuthaza)

As women emerge as role-players in the construction industry it is becoming increasingly necessary for them to interact with a wider range of industry leaders and stakeholders. It is through this interaction that skills are transferred and opportunities are created. In this regard Khuthaza plays a vital role serving as a bridge between women and the industry. In playing the role of an intermediary, communication is a vital component of what we do. As a communicator in the non-profit sector our objective is to raise awareness, foster understanding and ultimately create a mutually supportive environment. Khuthaza is positioning itself to be the main link between women and the construction sector. We refer to activities aimed at closing the gap between women and the industry as Bridgebuilding, these activities include:

Promoting women’s participation in the industry
Creating links and interaction between stakeholders
Fostering integration in the industry
Facilitating career, business and investment opportunities for women
Advocacy
Promoting transformation in terms of race and gender
Communication and information dissemination
Serving as a trusted source of industry information and opportunities

Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) as an invaluable tool for bridgebuilding.

As a catalyst of change and transformation within the housing and construction sectors, Khuthaza has been directly involved in the development of the Construction Charter and Code of Good Practice.

The Construction Charter and Code of Good Practice

From 2004, Khuthaza, then under the name Women for Housing, was involved in the development of the Construction Charter and Scorecard. The Charter was signed by government, labour and 13 industry associations in March 2006.

Following the release of the DTI Codes of Good Practice for BEE the industry aligned our Charter more closely with the DTI Codes and created a Code of Good Practice for the industry. The draft Code was gazetted in December 2008 and we await the finalisation of the legislative process.

As a bridge between women and the established industry we work to foster partnerships with a wide range of industry role-players, encourage their interest in transformation and facilitate implementation of the Codes of Good Practice.

The Construction Charter and Code aim to:

Provide a framework for addressing BEE, enhance capacity and increase productivity to meet world best practice
Address racial and gender inequalities within the industry through promoting employment equity, ownership, control, skills development, and enterprise development amongst previously disadvantaged individuals
Provide a quantitative framework for evaluating and monitoring a business’s progress towards BEE
Expand the employment potential and absorption capacity of the industry using labour intensive approaches where practical and economically feasible
Address Skills Development
Increase Preferential Procurement
Promote greater partnership with government in developmental initiatives
Enhance communication channels so that all parties can work together effectively

The Construction Charter and the Codes of Good Practice go a long way towards the realisation of transformation however they are only the first of many steps we will take on this journey.

The task of ensuring that the above principles come to life is shared by South African men and women, the industry and government. In this endeavour, our role is that of representing women in the industry, ensuring that they have access to, and are able to take advantage of the wide range of opportunities afforded by the BEE policies. Click here to learn more about BEE