THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS'
HIV/AIDS WORKSHOP
IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
HELD AT ELANGENI HOTEL, DURBAN
25th -26th NOVEMBER, 2002
CONTENTS
Executive summary
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Workshop Objectives
1.2 Expected Outputs
2.0 Overview of Proceedings
2.1 Contextual Factors Increasing the vulnerability of the construction
Industry to HIVIAIDS
2.2 The effects of HIV I AIDS on the sector
2.3 Current responses
2.3.1 The Department of Public Works
2.3.2 The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB)
2.3.3 The Mining Houses
2.3.4 National House of Traditional Leaders
2.3.5 Traditional Healers
2.3.6 The Institute of Security Studies
2.3.7 Social Development
2.3.8 The National Youth Commission
2.3.9 The Medical Research Council
3.0 Lessons learnt and outstanding challenges
4.0 Conclusion and Way Forward
5.0 Recommendations
Annexures
Pledge
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Presenters
Mr Mabutho Shangase: The National Youth Commission
Ms Johannah De Beer and Mr Leon Swart: Department of Social Development
Mr Gyimah Osafo: The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB)
Spencer Hodgson: The Construction Industry Development Board (CI DB)
Ms. Tracey Cheetham: Department of Public Works
Dr~ Fazel Randera: Health Advisor to the Chamber of Mines
Mr Martin Schonteich: The Institute of Security Studies
Dr Mark Colvin: The Medical Research Council
Mr Des Skhele: JOB Construction and Mining Pty Ltd
Mr J. Mhlongo: Chairperson of the Traditional Healers Association
Kgosi Shuping who presented on behalf of the National House of Traditional Leaders
Chairs for the sessions: Honourable MP, Inkosi M.W. Hlengwa
Honourable MP, S. Opperman,
Honourable MP, B. Radebe,
Honourable MP, M. Twala
Honourable MP, M. Chikane
Honourable MP, P. Majodini
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A workshop on "the impact of HIVIAIDS in the Construction Industry" was held in Durban on the 25th and 26th of November 2002. The construction industry is the 3rd largest employer in South Africa. It is also the industry in which families are separated for long periods of time. Recent studies show that the industry is under siege from HIV and AIDS and therefore this is a matter that can no longer be ignored.
Workshop participants included the Minister of Public Works, Ms Stella Sigcau, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Works, Inkosi Hlengwa, Members of the Portfolio Committee and other stakeholders. These participants' presence signified the government's commitment to respond to the challenge of HIV and AIDS.
Presentations put forth highlighted the need for HIVIAIDS awareness programmes that would best serve these various groups. The construction industry attracts individuals with diverse socio economic profiles ranging from highly skilled civil engineers to contracted labourers at their prime reproductive ages of 18 to 35 years.
Response strategies from the various presenters included:
· Recruitment of local labour where employees stay with their families and therefore maintain traditional and family values
· Training of traditional leaders to lead community initiatives on the prevention of HIVIAIDS
· Forming partnerships with various entities to fight HIVIAIDS, as well as the eradication of outmoded beliefs and myths with regards to HIVIAIDS
· Integrating traditional healers into the conventional health care system
· Disclosure of the HIV status
Recommendations put forth for this workshop include the development of a government policy which will make it compulsory for all government infrastructure projects to include an HIVIAIDS strategy. This would include coordination of other Portfolio Committees whose departments deal with building infrastructure by the PC for Public Works.
A declaration to this effect was consequently adopted by the workshop participants see attachment 1)
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
In its effort to bring to the forefront the fight against the HIVIAIDS pandemic, the
Portfolio Committee on Public Works, in collaboration with the Department of Public
Works (DPW), the Independent Development Trust (IDT) and the Construction
Industry Development Board (CIDB) organized a workshop to assess the imi,act of
HIVIAIDS in the construction industr~. The construction industry is the 3rd largest
employer in South Africa. It is also an industry that separates families for a long time.
While there are many economic benefits to those employed in the industry there are also negative sides like the separation of families. And yet when these employees get sick, they go back to their villages. It is the Amakhosi, in their traditional rural areas, who are often confronted by people living with HIVIAIDS or orphans, and surrogate mothers with little or no financial support except the old age pensions. It is in this context that this workshop came into being.
1.1 Workshop Objectives
The objectives of the workshop are to determine the following:
· How to support rural areas in the fight against HIVIAIDS
· The challenges facing the construction industry with regards to HIVIAIDS
· How to ensure government programmes have a strategic response to the pandemic, both internal and external
· How stakeholders can begin to have dialogue about ways to cope with the disease
1.2 Expected Outcomes
· Obtaining a broad overview from different stakeholders on what strides have been achieved in addressing the pandemic
· Identifying key partnerships in the fight against HIVIAIDS
· Developing approaches for mainstreaming HIVIAIDS into government policies, strategies and programmes.
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2.0 OVERVIEW OF PROCEEDINGS
Presentations and discussions at the workshop focussed on a number of areas including:
· An outline and understanding of the factors which increase the vulnerability of people working in the construction industry to HIVIAIDS
Challenges facing the construction industry around HIVIAIDS
· Current responses to the challenges by:
(a) government through the initiatives of the Department of Public Works and the Social Development
(b) the partnership programme between the Departments of Health, Social Development and Education
(c) the mining houses,
(d) the youth sector,
(e) the National House of Traditional Leaders,
(f) traditiona! healers and
(g) the Medical Research Council
key strategic questions raised were:
To what extent is the industry committed to the course? Answers to this question are found in the presentation by the Department of Public Works and the Construction Industry Development Board
What are the critical success factors? Answers to this question are presented in the Mining and Construction industry presentation.
How would the strategy accommodate the changing face of the epidemic? The answer to this question is found in the presentation by the Medical Research Council and in the recommendation section of this paper
What internal modifications are critical in the success of the strategy? The answer to this question lies in the partnerships outlined in the presentation by the National House of Traditional Leaders, the DPW, the traditionat healers and in the recommendation section
Other strategic questions are addressed per sector
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2.1 Contextual factors increasing the vulnerability of the construction industry to HIVIAIDS
The various presentations attempted to provide an understanding of how the demographic and socio-economic profiles of labour within the construction industry has become one of the key drivers of the epidemic within this sector. Like many in the building or infrastructure sector, the industry employs people between the ages of 18 and 35 years. The nature of jobs also tends to be short term, thus rendering the workforce into a highly mobile group.
2.2 The effects of HIVIAIDS on the sector
Research commissioned by the Department of Public Works, and other construction industry stakeholders indicates that the construction industry has the third highest incidence rate of HIVIAIDS per economic sector in South Africa.1 The impact of HIVIAIDS within the industry manifests itself in the form of high rates of absenteeism depletion of skills which add to a high cost of training new staff.2
In addition, the high incidence of HIVIAIDS within the industry hinders its ability to manage and produce work in a timely manner.
2.3 Current responses
Presentations on current responses are sector specific and include other players regarded as key in the construction industry like the National Youth Commission, and the traditional leaders. Most of the construction industry labour is drawn from the rural areas that are governed by the traditional leaders. Sector specific responses are expanded below
2.3.1 The Department of Public Works
In response to HIVIAIDS in the construction industry, the Department of Public Works (DPW) has developed a strategy aimed at creating awareness. The core of the DPW's HIVIAIDS awareness strategy hinges on construction companies and employers making a conscious effort to effectively address this pandemic within the sector. The implementation of this strategy will become mandatory for all contractors tendering for DPW contracts after completion of the pilot projects.
Speech by Minister Sigcau
2 Speech by JOB Construction and Mining Pty Ltd
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The strategic objectives of the strategy includes:
· Implementing HIVIAIDS awareness programmes on Department projects
· Amending the Department's procurement and contract documents
· Briefing DPW project managers to be aware in a personal and professional way of the disease, its impacts and the Department's approach in combating it.
· Testing the strategy on four Departmental pilot projects
· Finalization of the strategy and development of best practice guidelines
Pilot projects are currently underway to test the strategy and lessons learnt will inform the finalization of the strategy.
2.3.2 Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB)
The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) is a statutory body established by Parliament, Act 38 of 2000, to stimulate growth, reform and improvement of the construction industry and to enhance the construction industry's role in the socioeconomic development of the country. As such, one of their key responsibilities is to drive the implementation of strategies for improvement within the industry. In this regard, the CIDB has developed a specification which aims at influencing the way clients engage contractors by making the HIVIAIDS awareness on site, part of the total deliverables to the client and to make it the client's responsibility to pay for the cost of introducing HIVIAIDS awareness on construction sites.
Given the complexity and fragmentation of the industry, with many different role players from both the formal and informal sectors, the role of the client as the ultimate employer of all construction works and services is therefore seen as the strongest link to achieving the desired intervention necessary to make any meaningful impact in the fight against HIVIAIDS. The specification has therefore been designed to make the role of the client central to an HIVI AIDS strategy. This is achieved by making HIVIAIDS awareness on site an item that the contractor can price and be expected to deliver as part of the entire project.
The objectives of the specification are to raise awareness to reduce risk of infection, promote early diagnosis and to assist infected and affected individuals. The purpose of the specification is to have HIV resilient workforce, resilient communities and minimize the impact of the disease.
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From presentations made by the Department of Public Works and the CIDB the following strategic questions were raised:
a) Considering that the effects of HIVIAIDS creates a vicious circle of the depletion of skills, leading to unemployment and perpetuation of poverty that impacts at the household level how would
1) the strategy accommodate the changing face of the epidemic?
2) Who are the strategic partners?
· Within government
· Within the industry
· Within governance structures
· Within communities
3) What are their roles?
The CIDB acknowledged that the industry is fragmented, it's all over and there are different players. However the CIDB is in the process of developing an effective and broad based strategy for the Construction Industry. One of the main challenges is the coordination and integration of issues.
Sharing of resources and joining hands in training communities was also discussed.
2.3.3 The South African Chamber of Mines and JOB Construction and Mining Pty Ltd
An overview of the impact of the HIVIAIDS within the mining houses was highlighted by presentations from this sector and included the following:
· 70 percent of the workers in the mining industry are migratory labour
· There is a high infection rate in the surrounding communities where these migrant workers are housed3
Dr. Fazel Randeer: Advisor to the Mining Industry
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· Increased cost of recruitment and training
· Additional sick and compassionate leave
· Negative impact on staff morale
· Cost of occupational health standards
· Dealing with prejudice
Loss of turnover and profits
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The concern for the mining houses as well as the labour broker, was an observation that when an employee dies of AIDS related disease, quite often, the death is not reported to the employer (who at the same time is often not able to contact the family members). Consequently the deceased employee is regarded as having taken leave without permission and subsequently loses out on all death related benefits.4
One of the responses of the mining houses has been to establish workplace programmes designed to address factors which increase the vulnerability of the mine workers to HIVIAIDS.
Programmes are designed to. maintain traditional values and family structure increased self-worth of their employees, providing access to medical care, are particularly found to be appropriate.
Some specific strategies suggested in the approach described above include:
· Recruitment of workforce from the local population rather than using migrant labour. The merit of going local is that employees stay with their families and within their communities where traditional and local values are maintained. In addition the families of employees have access to medical benefits that they may be entitled to through the employed member. This type of arrangement also makes it easier for the employee's spouse or family members to access the employee's benefits in the event of death. Housing for the employee is also of benefit to both the family and the company and there is a stabilizing effect on children as the family unit is intact.
· Provision of occupational and ABET training and HIV awareness
program geared to empower employees by improving their self worth.
· Provision of on site services for occupational and primary health care
including free HIV testing services. In addition the family of the infected employee is provided with counseling and support systems.5
The strategic questions raised and discussed after these two presentation were:
· What are the merits of going local vis a vis getting the migrant labourers How can traditional family values be maintained.
JOB Construction and Mining Pty Ltd JOB Construction and Mining Pty Ltd
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Discussants argued that going local means that employees stay with their families and within their communities and therefore traditional and local values are maintained. In addition to this, if employees stay with their families it also means they benefit from the workplace programmes developed by the employers.
The mining house and construction industry noted that the reported loss of turnover and profits resulting from increased costs of recruitment and training and having to provide additional sick and compassionate leave and bearing the costs of occupational health standards are high. These factors impact negatively on staff morale. And yet care has to be taken to preserve the confidentiality of staff members who are HIV positive or else, dealing with prejudice becomes a massive problem.
As a result, mining houses are reluctant to expose their records so available statistics are unreliable. Forty percent plus of mining employees appear to be HIV positive, but the general belief is that the figure is higher than that on record. When an employee dies, no family member reports the death to the employer. The absence is then recorded as absent without leave, with the result that they loose all their benefits.
2.3.4 The National House of Traditional Leaders
The traditional leaders feel they are in an advantageous position to make a significant contribution in the fight against the scourge of AIDS. In his opening remarks Inkosi Hlengwa highlighted the fact that a significant group of migrant labourers come from traditional areas and when they get sick they go back to the traditional areas. The onus therefore falls on the community to take care of their sick and dying.
The National House of Traditional leader's response to the virus was the formation of the twenty member HIVIAIDS forum in association with the National Department of Health. The task teams emanating from this forum, are to be trained in order to lead community initiatives on prevention of HIVIAIDS. Traditional leaders are mindful of challenges around issues of HIVIAIDS facing this sector including:
· breaking of taboos such as free discussion of sexual matters between parents and children,
· forming a National Framework that is aimed at guarding traditional initiation schools and the difficulty of getting rural people to practice safer sex.6
The Traditional leaders urged for a multi sectoral approach to the disease The strategic questions raised and discussed after this presentation were:
what can be done to combat the scourge?
Discussants informed the participants that the National House of Traditional leaders has formed a twenty member HIVIAIDS forum in association with the National Department of Health. Task teams emanating from this forum, will be trained in order to be able to inform the community about the causes and prevention of HIVIAIDS.
Other initiatives are taking place countrywide with traditional leadership forming partnerships with business as is the case with Isilo Samabandla, His Majesty, the King of the Zulu National Unit in partnership with Glow Master Colours who have started a project called 'AIDS awareness, Lighting Board Project" 7 -It was refreshing to learn that the stand point of the NHTL is that all customs related
to rituals and initiation into various stages of development has to be reviewed. Their argument is that outmoded beliefs and myths with regards to HIVIAIDS have to be eradicated.
They advocate to the old morality such as:
· No sex before marriage
· No extra marital affairs
· Respect for tradition e.g. initiation ceremonies
· Respect for cultural life and values
Key Challenges
· Breaking of taboos such as free discussion of sexual matters between parents and children
Forming a national Framework that is aimed at guarding traditional initiation
school
· Difficulty of getting rural people to use condoms
In conclusion the Amakhosi are in total support of the formation of a Moral Regeneration Movement in which they can be involved
2.3.5 The Traditional healers
The discussions emanating from the traditional healers presentation demystified the role of traditional healers around the HIVIAIDS virus. The presenter noted that real traditional healers or IziNyanga do not claim to cure AIDS. Instead they dispense medicines made from herbs and ingredients to keep their patients strong and healthy and help them regain their strength after illness. He also acknowledged however that there were unscrupulous elements who advertised themselves as having the ability to cure AIDS.
The key challenge facing this sector was being integrated into the conventional health care system, which, in their view, would only be possible once the government acknowledges the overall role of traditional healers in health care provision. In their view, the logical starting point for working with the government would be for the government to offer training programmes to traditional healers at local levels on
2.3.6 The Institute of Security Studies (ISS)
The highlights of this presentation showed that there is:
· more direct impact of the epidemic may undermine democracy and institutions
· epidemic has a 'ripple effect" as it affects the various government departments like the army, the police services
· Terminal illness is demoralizing
· Households have to fund the sick with limited resources and end up getting loans
· Strain to other members of the households
· Estimated that there would be more than 1 million orphans by 2005
· The psychological impact too intense
Loss of familiar surroundings and trauma 9
2.3.7 Social Development The presenter gave an overview of the HlviSeroprevalence Survey, which showed an increase from 1991 to 2000. She noted that:
· HIV/AIDS is the fastest growing epidemic
· has an impact on life expectancy
· those born with the virus die within 2.5 years
· life expectancy is likely to drop to 40 years by 2010
· HIV positive children are likely to drop out of school because of psychological distress
The response from this sector focused on:
· Workplace programmes to manage the impact as the service demands on social services increase
· The need for partnerships to address child headed households to ensure the basic needs for children are met
· Destigmatization and disclosure of the HIV virus as a disease like any other
· Developing programmes and partnerships as Department of Social Development has done with Department of Public Works
· Ensuring that caregivers come from the community
The presenter noted however that the main challenge is integration and coordination10
2.3.8 The National Youth Commission The presenter noted that the construction industry is one sector of the economy that is very much reliant on transient labour, which basically means that its labour force is very much mobile, interacting with different settled communities at different intervals while still very much attached to their families.
Some of the National Youth Commission's response strategies include:
· Provision and more roll out of youth friendly health services
· More promotion of confidential Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT)
· More peer education programmes in the school curriculum as well as for tertiary institutions not only in the context of formal schooling. Peer education facilitates open dialogue amongst peers even in a work environment.
· Strengthening of the government partnership against HIVIAIDS, mobilising broad based support and resources with particular attention on prevention and education, as well as community support in home based care
· The role of the private sector has to be emphasized, current efforts by some companies in the fight are appreciated but more still needs to be done. The sector has acknowledged the impact that HlV is having in terms of the human, financial and social costs to its operations and communities. HIVIAIDS affects people within their most productive years and in the long-term this leads to declining productivity and economic growth as a result of absenteeism, organisational disruption, and drainage of pension as well as medical insurance schemes. It has been established that for poor bereaved families, it may take up five months or more to recover financially from a single funeral.11
The prevalence of infection amongst the age group 25 - 40 indicates that there is considerable interaction between the different age groups and that young people are not alone amongst those infected. This interaction is the result of young people not being able to afford a descent lifestyle while the older generation can afford and provide- this creates a phenomenon that further perpetuates the spread of the disease. High levels of unemployment are indicative of the fact that poverty is still behind the spread of the virus. Other factors cited are lack of recreational facilities or gainful use of free time, prevalence of violence and alcohol and substance abuse.
Strategic questions raised during this presentation were:
1) What role does he foresee coming from the private sector
The discussant noted that the role of the private sector has to be emphasized, current efforts by some companies in the fight are appreciated but more still needs to be done. He then further looked at the main remedial measures which were the following:-
1.
Peer education programs in the school curriculum as well as tertiary institutions, and providing for open dialogue for peers, even in a work environment
2. Strengthening of the governmental partnership against HIVIAIDS by mobilizing broad based support and resources with particular emphasis on prevention and education as well as community support in home based care.
3. The private sector has acknowledged the far reaching consequences of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and is involved in remedial measures but the important role of this sector cannot be over emphasized.
2.3.8 The Medical Research Council
The specialist epidemiologist from the Medical Research Council in his presentation said the UN characterized HIVIAIDS as "greatest single threat to Africa's social and economic development". The HIVIAIDS epidemic is rapidly reversing the social and economic achievements of the past half a century and now poses a threat to development in Sub Saharan Africa, a growing threat in Asia and the Caribbean a probable threat in some Eastern European Countries.12 He argued that development projects may actually promote the transmission of HIV and so undermine key developmental objectives. He gave the example of the Akhosombe River Dam in Ghana where construction necessitated the displacement of an approximately 80 thousand farmers who then obtained jobs on the construction site. Women found work in hotels and bars while others resorted to commercial sex. The upshot of it all was that surveillance surveys in 1985 showed that in the town of Agomaya the administrative center of the district that abuts the Akhosome Dam, the HIV infection rates were 5 to 10 times above the level of average HIV prevalence in Ghana.
The life expectancy of those children born with the virus is 2.5 years. Those who are born free of the virus, but who contracted during youth or early adulthood have a life expectancy of 25 years. Those born free of the virus and practicing a life style which places them at low risk of contracting the virus can expect to live until 60 years and over. The majority of those infected will be during the periods of peak sexual activity i.e. the late teens and early twenties. This group will fall ill and die in their late twenties and early thirties. HIV positive pregnant women might infect their newborn children during the process of delivery or through breast feeding. In this category, infant and child mortality rates are increased as a result of these infants quickly developing AIDS.
The foregoing figures have alarming implications for child welfare. Often children loose rights to family land or property; it falls to welfare to care for these orphans by way of child care and orphan grants, finding homes for them and dealing with the expenditure. Welfare is faced with the problem of relatives moving in, and exploiting these children, many children suffer from malnutrition and other illnesses and have no access to health care, others are sexually exploited. The implications for welfare are numerous; it does not end with paying pensions and social grants. Welfare has to secure resources to ensure the survival of programs. In addition, they have to strengthen the capacity of families to cope with problems. Over and above all this they have to monitor the impact of HIVIAIDS on children and their families, the challenges that have to be faced are all tied up with the vicious circle of the consequences of children either being infected, or affected through HIVIAIDS parents dying at an early age, and leaving orphans to survive. The question is how? Poverty, death and illness have a direct effect on food production and food security and add to the nutritional deprivation of children already living in poverty. The education of girl children might be sacrificed causing illiteracy amongst girls. Ultimately girls have no education or skills to fend for themselves and become economically dependent on men.
For the specific management and mitigation of HIVIAIDS he advocates voluntary counseling and testing, prophylactic therapies, administration of anti retroviral, home based care programmess and medical aid policies for the workforce. For addressing the "vulnerability of the workforce, the following sector suggestions were made;
o Promotion of the use of local labour
o Adjust labour recruitment to address gender issues
o Improve labour housing to accommodate families and provide integration into the community as well as recreational facilities
In addressing the vulnerability of the impacted communities, he put forth the following:
· Outreach to sex workers
· Resettlement policies
· Access to clinics to treat STIs in the community
· Capacity building in the community Social marketing of condoms
The strategic questions raised and discussed after this presentation were:
1) What are the demographic implications of the epidemic to society
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The discussant explained that children being orphaned as a result of the AIDS epidemic have placed an increased burden in society. Orphanages cannot cope, so there is an increase in the number of street children. HIVIAIDS children fall into two main categories, namely infected children and affected children.
3.0 LESSONS LEARNT AND OUTSTANDING CHALLENGES
The workshop identified the following as key challenges facing the industry:
1) At a strategic level i.e bringing the HIV and AIDS to the centre of government's policies, strategies and programmes
2) At an operational level i.e. responding to two basic questions which are
a) What is the impact of AIDS on development
b) What are the negative impacts on the spread of HIV in the community? What policies, strategies and actions should be put in place to enhance the positive impacts
The discussions brought to the fore the importance of:
· Mainstreaming of HIVIAIDS by going beyond "business as usual" thus ensuring that the impact of HIVIAIDS is addressed and reduced within the industry and the communities from which the industry's human resources is drawn.
· Changing the way people work i.e improvement of the situation of people
already affected by HIVIAIDS using lessons learnt from the presentations eg
(As highlighted in Jo Block's presentation)
Partnerships (see expected outcomes) 4.0 CONCLUSION I WAY FORWARD
The workshop brought HIVIAIDS to the centre of development and helped expand the response away from the Department of Health. It also brought to light that government, development agencies, traditional leaders as well as the industry need to look at the impact of the policies, laws, and procedures. By the end of the proceedings it was clear that the various representatives were beginning to talk about moving the goal posts towards a resolution that would commit the participants to taking the workshop decisions forward.
Mainstreaming the HIVIAIDS epidemic will mean developing plans that address the epidemic.
1. Creating guiding coalitions to deal with the HIVIAIDS
2. Creating awareness of an emergency which will accelerate the knowledge base and ensure that the message reaches more people (intensification)
a. Expand health education and awareness programmes to other key stakeholders across all government departments in partnership with civil society. Use of stakeholder mapping will be helpful to ensure that the message reaches a wider audience
b. Providing platforms for these partnerships to flourish
5.0 RECOMMENDATIONS The workshop participants ended in agreement that many people are dying of AIDS related issues and therefore government institutions need to position themselves as leaders in the fight against HIVIAIDS. Partnerships were suggested as one of the important strategies to fight the epidemic.
It is therefore recommended that the Portfolio Committee should create a forum for a dialogue with other stakeholders to ensure that their efforts are not lost. Such a forum may include all the departments that deliver infrastructure such as the Department of Water Affairs, Transport, Housing and others. With the expanded public works programme the Portfolio Committee has to influence the Construction Industry Development Board through public works to make it compulsory for all government infrastructure projects to have an HIV/AIDS strategy. In this endeavour, it is important that the Department of Public Works takes the leadership role in coordinating the process.
We, the Portfolio Committee for Public Works
Department of Social Development
Presenters of Papers at the Workshop
Representatives of Parliament
The National House of Traditional Leaders
Traditional Healers
Independent Development Trust
National Department of Public Works
Construction Industry Development Board,
DEPARTMENT PUBLIC WORKS REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
who participated from the 25th to 26th November 2002 in a workshop hosted by the Portfolio Committee for Public Works and designed to assess the impact of HIV I AIDS in the Construction Industry acknowledge and assert as follows:
1. HIVIAIDS is spreading its tentacles to engulf our youth and indeed to exterminate our community through its overwhelming scourge.
2. Each of the organizations that we represent are needed to bond together as one in order to fight against and annihilate this insidious disease.
3. From our discussion, various methods of control and confrontation have emerged, the most urgent being of educating the uninformed and dispelling of dangerous myths and misconceptions.
We further acknowledge and realize that this workshop which was designed to address the construction industry has opened various other avenues that have to be explored hereafter.