Construction dispute resolution techniques are no longer confined to grim court or arbitration battles. Far more appropriate techniques have emerged; techniques which seek to preserve commercial relationships and minimise disruption to the progress of the works.

The readiness of South African industries to cheat has gone too far. The disease of dishonest business practices has permeated the major industries of the country, and most menacingly, it is these businesses that impact directly on the lives of the poor, and in turn undermine Government's development agenda. Think bread, milk, steel, bricks, cement, sand, pharmaceuticals, banking and even airlines. The sheer breadth of cartel and anti-competitive behaviour within South Africa is highly unnerving, especially when considered in the context of a global recession that is reaching into even the deepest of pockets.

Under the microscope once again, the practice of labour broking is rousing heated debate within industry circles. Two very defined schools of thought are tackling its very existence - to ban or not to ban? The new fuel to this fiery debate was Namibia's recent decision to ban labour broking, effectively criminalising the practice within its new Labour Act. The constitutionality of the ban was challenged unsuccessfully in Namibia's High Court, which then prompted a rising voice within the ANC to announce similar intentions.

In our second issue we ran an article by Cees Bruggemans, First National Bank’s Chief Economist, titled ‘The Greatest Boom of all Time’. It illustrates the explosive pace at which this world is growing, and the inherent opportunities deep within. He describes the massive structural shifts taking place in global society, most notably a population growth of seven billion people in a single generation, 1950 – 2050, which will never happen again.

The beginning of October saw the majority of the Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA) employer organisations suspend their participation in the activities of the CETA Council and all its committees.