A civil engineer by profession, Trevor Fowler has a wealth of experience and knowledge in the public and private sectors, politics, administration and the civil engineering profession. He served as executive director at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
He also served as Chief Operating Officer and Acting Director-General in the Presidency from 2004 – 2009. In this capacity he served President Motlanthe during the months of his presidential term from September 2008 to May 2009.
Day 2, Tuesday 8 April, Client Workshop and Q&A Session, 11h30 – 12h30 of the Civilution Congress
Historically, city management structures included competent city engineers, offering technical support, capacity and training opportunities for young engineers – a complete and efficient engineering service department aimed at creating, managing and operating engineering infrastructure to serve its constituency.
These structures are no longer the norm, which is evident in dilapidated road networks, poor public transportation, and lack of vision in integrated networks and perceived corruption in procurement processes.
It is imperative that the structures and systems are restored and engineers are given technical decision-making authority in collaboration with politicians – a relationship that should be above board and untainted by unethical practices.
Trevor Fowler will present some of the challenges that the City of Johannesburg faces in terms of technical capacity, innovation and relationship with the private sector. Fowler will present a clear view of the client’s expectations from the engineering industry – what should the engineering sector do differently in order to allow Johannesburg to live up to its motto of “A world-class African city”.
Author : Willandri Louw
