Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology
School for the Built Environment
Department of Construction Economics
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
Upgrading and conversion of hostels. After 1994 the new South African government introduced a hostels upgrading and conversion program with the objective of turning dormitory-type migrant worker hostel compounds into integrated 'villages' suitable for family living. The Sethokga hostel in Tembisa township, a sprawling dormitory-type compound of 12 000 bed spaces owned and operated by the Kempton Park local authority, is earmarked as one such project.
A socio-economic survey of residents carried out by a research team under my leadership revealed that low pay and high unemployment contribute to real fears among the residents about their ability to afford the to be upgraded accommodation, and the possibility of displacement, and even eviction as a result. The expressed need appears to be for affordable accommodation options not limited to family units as originally envisaged, but ranging from single rooms to apartments for sub-letting and sharing as well. The survey has also yielded very useful information on life-style needs and how to support economic livelihood activities within the compound.
The results have played an important role in informing the project planners on the real needs of the intended beneficiaries, and may even contribute to the development of more appropriate funding policies and instruments for improving the living conditions of the approximately one million hostel dwellers in South Africa.
Contact person: Mr JS Pienaar.
To determine the competency levels of quantity surveyors in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka with regard to the ten key skills of a value manager, a comparative study was conducted using structured skills tests.
The ten key skills, identified by a panel of assessors, are (in rank order): creativity, mental alertness, leadership (transformational), listening skills, conflict management (collaborate), social style (expressive), innovation, adaptability, self-motivation, and abstract reasoning.
The results were analysed to determine whether the 'average' quantity surveyor in each country could offer value management as a professional service and by doing so, identify the difference in the competency profile of the average quantity surveyor in the different countries. Findings indicated that the skills profile is generally average in South Africa and between average and above average in New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka. It should, however, be borne in mind that the results are based on an average and that there were individual quantity surveyors whose skills profile closely matched the defined profile for a value manager.
Contact person: Prof RN Visser.
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