About Vikashnee Harbhajan

It was announced at the2011 Annual Excellence in Construction Awards ceremony that Vikashnee Harbhajan would in January 2012, be taking over the reins as Executive Director of Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal from Brandon Abdinor. In an interview, Ms Harbhajan said that she was looking forward to the new challenges that lie ahead and was pleased to be back in her home town of Durban.

“I look forward to working and achieving the goals and visions of Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal and the construction industry at large. My experience in organised business will help me considerably and I will bring these skills to the table in our endeavours to growing the industry in the province.”

At the MBA she will be looking at transformation, strengthening relationships with key stakeholders, improving membership services and growing and sustaining the organization.

The pressing issues in the industry includes inter alia; unlocking investment into infrastructure development; effecting public private partnerships to expedite infrastructure delivery and promoting transparent and effective tender processes .

The Association will play a key role by entering into social dialogue with Government and relevant stakeholders to identify blockages and work in partnership for the greater good of the economy, increase efforts on lobbying and influencing key policy positions which impact on the industry and create an enabling environment for our members to thrive in their businesses.    

Vikashnee Harbhajan has held senior positions in both the public and private sector, has a Master’s degree in law and is an admitted Attorney and Conveyancer of the High Court of South Africa.

She commenced her career at the University of Durban–Westville and Technikon Mangosuthu in the faculties of Law and served her articles with the Legal Aid Board. Ms Harbhajan also practiced as an attorney for her own account and served at the Free State Department of Education as Director: Legal Services and Labour Relations, before taking up a position with the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) as the Programme Director.

She then joined Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), the national voice of organised business in SA where she served as Executive Director responsible for Social Policy for over four years.  Her portfolio at BUSA included inter alia labour market policy, education, training, skills, health, immigration, social security and anti – corruption. In her role, she represented SA business at various platforms. Her role at BUSA gave her the opportunity to be part of a business delegation that engaged with key Government leaders, Labour federations and the Community constituency.  

Vikashnee has acquired expertise in the key areas of leadership and executive management, strategic and operational planning, advocacy and lobbying, project management, stakeholder negotiations and networking, knowledge of corporate governance and the ability to deal with diverse interests.

She has also gained experience on several Boards and Councils, including the National Board for Further Education and Training (NBFET), Advisory Council for Occupational Health and Safety (ACOHS), the South African Business Coalition on HIV and AIDS Board (SABCOHA), Wholesale and Retail SETA Board (WRSETA) and was a member of the Institute of Directors (IOD).

Vikashnee currently serves on the Essential Services Committee (ESC).

Ernest Roper | Regional Manager Durban