SEWPACKSA
NEWS LETTER 03/11
“Spring has sprung, the grass has rise….”oh so true and so
has Sewapacksa. The organisation is now well established and viable.
Registration as a
Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) with the Department of Social Services (Reg No. 091-037-NPO) is complete.
Sewpacksa has a
bank account (as those who are already members will know).
The corporate identity has
been designed and is well on the way to universal recognition as can be seen
above and with the slogan “setting the standard”. Paid up members have the right to use the
logo on letterheads, websites, advertising material to clearly identify their
links to Sewpacksa.
The Sewpacksa website is up and running and will soon have links to WISA, WRC DWA and all Sewpacksa members’ websites for easy reference.
Tenders are being issued
that set Sewpacksa membership as a prerequisite to
tendering.
Sewpacksa now
boasts its first official (paid) employee. Many of you have already had some form of communication from our
Administrator, Belinda Townsend.
To celebrate the achievements
so far, the Executive Committee of Sewpacksa decided to have an informal get together to
report back to members and prospective members as well as to get input from the
members regarding the direction the organisation should be taking and what
initiatives the members would like taken.
The function was held at
the offices of WEC north of Johannesburg on 25 August 2011. There was a fantastic turnout who enjoyed the
company of like-minded people and a cold frosty. The meeting was attended by the Executive
Committee and representatives from the following organisations; Amitek; Biobox; Borda; Fam Systems; Gelert (Pty) Ltd.; Ozonize
Services; Prentec; Samine; Tecroveer; Veolia Water; WEC Projects; Wettech;
WRC/WISA.
Since
SEWPACKSA’s successful inaugural meeting last year, many have been wondering
what we’ve been up to and asking if we’re still around. Absolutely! Spike Becker, Vice-Chairman of
the association advised that the Executive Committee have been working behind
the scenes and getting together on a monthly basis tending to the finer details
associated with getting a new venture off the ground.
Karl Juncker Chairman of
the Association said that members should take pride in, and accountability for,
their plants and ascribe to the objectives of the association regarding the
implementation of technical standards to enforce proper Design (Process) and
Sign-off (Installation) by an Approved Professional Person (APP).
Zack van den Berg (Executive
Committee member tasked with setting standards) encouraged members to become
acquainted with the Guideline for Package Plants for the Treatment of Domestic
Waste Water, as this document would be adopted as the standard to which members
would need to adhere. For a link to the Guideline document click on the
following link,
Later additional standards
would be added as the organisation grows.
“We would like to see it
become standard practice for the industry to automatically include Operation
& Maintenance contracts in their proposals” said van den Berg. “If clients are not prepared to pay for this
then we are obliged to at least ensure that we do a proper hand-over”
Another of Sewpacksa’s goals is to secure endorsements from
authorities such WISA, DWA, Johannesburg Water and other NGO’s, which have
shown a lot of support and enthusiasm for the association so far.
Dr. Valerie Naidoo of WISA and WRC reminded everyone that at the last WISA conference,
research indicated that there was R2billion worth of current need in the SWWTW
industry. In other words, there is more
than enough pie for everyone…and then some! In terms of package plants, Dr. Naidoo advised that decentralized systems were the way
to go particularly for South Africa, SADEC countries and Africa.
“The advantage of being a Sewpacksa member will become obvious during the tendering
process in that it will level the playing field, as everyone will be working
within the same parameters” said van den Berg.
Karl Juncker said that the
meeting was a worthwhile exercise and such a success that Sewpacksa will certainly look into hosting more of these interactive sessions with its
members, and other interested parties. Sewpacksa would also take a road show to the other regions
in the Country. He advised
those still sitting on the fence that two recent tenders had already stipulated Sewpacksa membership as qualifying criteria, and that
it would soon become the norm once the Sewpacksa standards had been established. We urge those “registered”
parties who have not yet done so, to please respond to our call to send through
their financial information so that we can invoice you accordingly. Annual membership fees are calculated
according to a company’s annual turnover, and there are various membership
categories and associated fees. We
assure you that your information will be treated as strictly confidential. Please contact Belinda for more information.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our paid-up members for
their support.
In the interim and in keeping with our open door
policy, please communicate with us and send us your feedback, suggestions and
input. This is YOUR association so let’s
keep the channels of communication open – pick up the phone or send us a mail! Here’s how to get hold of us.
Belinda Townsend Administrator 079-473-4090 belinda@sewpacksa.co.za
Karl Juncker Chairman 011 745-5500 karl@kegengineering.co.za
Spike Becker Vice-Chairman 011
791-7513 liaison@sewpacksa.co.za
Wayne Taljaard Financial Officer 011 974-8161 finance@sewpacksa.co.za
Stewart Buchanan Secretarial 011 976-5234 stewartb@prentec.co.za
Zack van den Berg Technical 011 752-1191 zvdberg@tecroveer.co.za
Constitution for Sewpacksa - 2011