The following excellent article was penned by Paddy Hartdegen for Property24.com. We thank both Paddy and Property24.com for granting us permission to republish it.

Our politicians and our government officials lie to us. Let's not beat about the bush here: spin doctoring is just a euphemism for lying and we get a lot of lying all the time.

Last week there was an angry response from the Dr Lindiwe Sisulu's spokesperson and I don't want to resurrect that debate - I've said all I've got to say about it.

But one of the comments did infuriate me. It came from a person called Lus, who lives in Ivory Park and who wrote: "I don't care which houses you're talking about on your sudden list, spokesperson, all the houses built by your boss in Ivory Park next to Midrand, where I live, are falling down in this rain. . .".

The important thing here is not that some contractor was given the contract to erect those houses. The important thing is that the people who did the work were just not qualified to do it.

Why?

Because there are no apprenticeships left in the building industry. And yet there are millions of unqualified or under-qualified school-leavers who are sitting around doing nothing because they are unemployed and unemployable.

During the middle seventies of the previous century there were more than a thousand Apprentices formally indentured in the Building Industry in South Africa, of which many were employed in the then Province of Natal. There is a view within Government that without more artisans, South Africa would continue to suffer poor service delivery, especially in rural areas where there are significant backlogs in infrastructure provision and maintenance.

One way of correcting this was to put money into training during the current economic downturn. The Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr. Blade Nzimande, on 13 January 2010, announced that the Department was also taking steps to decentralise apprentice assessment facilities in an attempt to get closer to its target of producing 25 000 artisans a year, a significant jump from the current 5 600 in all sectors of the economy. Currently, it does not auger well when there is not a single apprentice registered in the designated trades in the Building Industry in KwaZulu-Natal.

In order to boost manual skills training to produce artisans, a comprehensive increased tax incentive to encourage employers to train has been announced. The previous incentive for apprentices was paid only when the apprentice qualified. With effect of June 2009 the system for apprentice incentives was aligned with that of learnership when it became an annual incentive.

Hot and dry/humid weather conditions like that which we experience in KwaZulu-Natal can have a dangerous effect on the health of workers who aren't prepared for it. Exposure to high temperatures for lengthy periods of time increases the chances of contracting sunburn, heat exhaustion, heat stroke or heat cramps. Symptoms can range from mild to severe and in extreme cases can result in death.

Prevention is better than cure.

Normal body temperature is 37°C, when it rapidly rises above this to 41°C, heat stress sets in. When this occurs, it is a life threatening condition requiring prompt and competent treatment.

Who is susceptible to heat related illness?

New employees - it can take up to 2 months for somebody to acclimatize to heat in their specific work environment.
Older individuals tend to be less resilient and often succumb to excessive heat exposure.
Anybody exposed to excessive temperatures for an extended period of time.
Persons under the influence of alcohol or suffering the consequences of alcohol intake.
Foreigners -  not used to the natural climate of the area.
Anybody who is ill, or whose body has been weakened due to illness.

http://www.masterbuilders.co.za/travel.htm

Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal has teamed up with a leading online flight comparison vendor in South Africa to offer you a quick and easy way to compare and book flights online.

The service can be accessed directly from our website (masterbuilders.co.za), forums or newsletter and allows you to search hundreds of airline databases with one click on your mouse.  Almost all of the major airlines and low cost carriers are included in the search.

The search results for your trip are then listed with the cheapest flights for your selected destination and date range, displayed at the top or the page.  You can filter these search results according to the following criteria; preferred time of departure, number of stops (international flights) and preferred airline.

Tip - if your travel dates are flexible, click on "Search +/- 1 day".  This will give you a greater range of cheap flights to choose from.

Once you have selected a flight, you enter in your details and can then pay by credit card or EFT. Your e-ticket will be emailed/sms'ed to you as soon as payment is received.

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• industrial (and commercial) building and equipment maintenance coatings,including traffic and safety markings coatings;
• graphic art coatings, that is, products marketed solely for application on billboards, road signs, and similar uses and for identification marking in industrial buildings;
• touch-up coatings for agricultural equipment, lawn and garden equipment, and appliance; and catalysed coatings marketed solely for use on radio-controlled model powered aircraft.