Portia Sibanyoni was awarded a bursary by the GladAfrica Foundation in 2016 to pursue her passion

in electrical engineering. She has a BSc (Eng.) degree in Electrical Engineering from the University

of Witwatersrand. Portia, who is currently employed as an intern electrical engineer at the company,

is also registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) as a candidate engineer.

We sat down with Portia recently to find out about her journey with GladAfrica.

Describe your journey at GladAfrica and how the company has assisted you in realising your vision?

GladAfrica Group has made my vision of becoming an electrical engineer a reality when they granted

me a bursary after I completed Grade 12 in 2016. It especially helped that I was afforded an opportunity

to work at GladAfrica Group and PLP Africa Group during my school holidays. I managed to gain

real-life experience and get clarity on the world of electrical engineering. GladAfrica Group has not

only financed my studies but also provided me with support through mentorships to help me succeed

in my career so far. With the support that I received from the company, my school and family, I have

pulled through all the difficulties of my academic journey and I obtained my degree in four years.

What projects have you been involved in since you started working for the company as an intern?

I started working at GladAfrica in January 2020 as an electrical engineering intern. I was

appointed to work full-time on a hospital assessments project. I conducted site investigations

and exam design drawings, amongst other things. I assessed the condition of electrical equipment and

installations at the various hospitals, and compiled conditional assessment reports for compliance

standards.

I was site-based and travelled throughout South Africa, which was a great experience. However, the

project was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and ground to a halt for a few months. I used the

time during lockdown to familiarise myself with the early stages of the design work in the project.

Thankfully, we resumed our assessment work for hospitals a few months ago, although under strict

Covid-19 regulations.

What are your observations of GladAfrica Group?

I plan to be registered as a Professional Engineer with ECSA in the next three to five years.

GladAfrica Group is one of the fastest growing black-owned consultancy firms in South Africa, delivering

services in the built environment and I am proud to be part of the team. It also offers opportunities

for goal-driven learners from disadvantaged backgrounds to access the bursary programme, of

which I was a beneficiary. This programme greatly shapes the future of many learners – and South

Africa at large. The growth of the company means the creation of job opportunities and the provision

of excellent quality services to clients. It is a brand that I believe in and one for which I am proud to

be of service.

In a historic milestone, GladAfrica Foundation launched the GladAfrica Epilepsy Research Project (GERP) at the University of Venda in Limpopo in February 2020. The Launch was attended by local government leaders, top officials and academics from the University of Venda, and members of the media. 

In line with its mandate of uplifting communities through socially meaningful projects, the GladAfrica Foundation and the University of Venda formally entered into a partnership to research the effects of epilepsy in rural communities of Limpopo and Mpumalanga.Epilepsy is one of the health conditions that remains highly stigmatised within our communities. According to Epilepsy SA, epilepsy affects 1 out of 100 people and about 66% of the underlying causes of epilepsy are unknown. The aim of GERP is to develop and implement awareness and educational initiates that will demystify epilepsy in a clinical way. During his address Co-Chair of the Foundation, Noel Mashaba, who suffered from epilepsy as a child, said the four year partnership with the University of Venda will make way for multi-sector engagements necessary to raise awareness about epilepsy. He emphasized that education and awareness campaigns were essential to change the narrative around epilepsy. 

Dear Valued Stakeholder

Kindly receive our latest update regarding the relationship between GladAfrica Project Managers and the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.

Following negotiations between GladAfrica Group (Pty) Ltd and officials of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality regarding the contract between GladAfrica Project Managers and the Municipality, we confirm that the two parties agreed on a separation by mutual consent.

We maintain our initial stance on the matter – that GladAfrica Project Managers was appointed after a rigorous selection process that looked at among other things, our capacity to deliver on the project.

We have met and satisfied all the requirements as stipulated in the Municipality’s Supply Chain regulations and the Municipal Finance Management Act.

It was against this background that we approached the Gauteng Ethics Advisory Council to probe our conduct with regard to the bidding process for the contract. We await the outcome of this process.

We also welcomed the Tshwane Council-initiated probe into this matter and the process subsequently undertaken by the office of the Auditor-General to ascertain whether all the legal prescripts were followed in concluding the contract. We have noted the findings emanating from this process.

The Board of Directors of the GladAfrica Group considered the matter at its meeting in August 2018. The Board took a position that should any aspect of the bidding process be found to be non-compliant with the Municipality’s Supply Chain regulations and the Municipal Finance Management Act, GladAfrica Project Managers should seek to have the relationship reviewed.

We pride ourselves with our delivery on the tasks assigned to us over the past 15 months that we have been contracted to the municipality. Our dynamic teams have helped the municipality turnaround the delivery of services to the people of Tshwane and reverse backlogs.

We have worked closely with the municipality to support officials in their quest to meet the administration’s electoral mandate.

We further acknowledge the decision by the municipality to entrust us with the responsibility of concluding outstanding projects until end of June 2019. Our teams stand ready to execute the assigned tasks as they’ve impeccably done since our appointment in 2017.

Our relationship with the City of Tshwane Municipality dates back more than a decade ago when we were awarded our first opportunity.

We wish to thank the municipality’s administration for finding us capable and suitable to do the work that had been assigned to us. We value the relationship and are grateful for every opportunity we get to work in the municipality.

For any further queries relating to GladAfrica Group, kindly contact GladAfrica Marketing and Communications on communications@gladafrica.com

Issued by GladAfrica Group

Acquisition strengthens GladAfrica’s position in the built environment

GladAfrica’s acquisition of a 100% shareholding in Ariya Project Managers (Pty) Ltd (Ariya) has strengthened the Group’s competitive edge in the building and construction industry locally and in the African region. The acquisition allows us to create a completely African-born organisation within the built environment, while realising our vision of creating life-changing, built-environment solutions.

GladAfrica’s acquisition of a 100% shareholding in Ariya Project Managers (Pty) Ltd (Ariya) has strengthened the Group’s competitive edge in the building and construction industry locally and in the African region. The acquisition allows us to create a completely African-born organisation within the built environment, while realising our vision of creating life-changing, built-environment solutions.

As a built-environment management consultancy active within a variety of markets, industries and sectors, Ariya has, since its establishment in 2005, created a solid track record among public and private sector clients alike and successfully completed a number of South Africa’s prestigious and high-profile infrastructure projects. The company is wholly black-owned with a 35% black women shareholding, level 2 B-BBEE and an international ISO 9001:2008 accreditation. Ariya has a firm footprint in the South African market and operates in Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Nelspruit.

The acquisition enables GladAfrica to expand its project management footprint and add significant value to its comprehensive offering of customised project management services. The move also creates a uniquely African organisation with the expertise and capacity to meet market expectations in the built environment locally and in the African region.

While GladAfrica will retain its Engineering Consulting arm, the Group will establish a new specialised company (GladAfrica Project Managers (Pty) Ltd) to focus primarily on project management services, including development management, tenant coordination and installation and procurement management. Ariya’s current Managing Director, Sigi Naidoo, will continue as Managing Director of the new entity. Given the solid track records of both companies in the industry and their similar work ethic and cultural fit, the new team is will offer the local and regional markets exciting alternative, value-added services. Ariya’s notable list of recent projects includes the MyCity BRT in Cape Town, Green Point Stadium and the University of Mpumalanga.

According to Mr Naidoo, “We embraced this opportunity to join the GladAfrica team in a joint pursuance of delivering innovative engineering and project management solutions. I have no doubt that together we will create a notable force in the built environment consulting sector.”