about the cidb > background and history

Construction plays a vital role in South Africa’s economic and social development. It provides the physical infrastructure and backbone for economic activity. It is also a large-scale provider of employment. The legacy of Apartheid has, however, left the South African construction industry with a number of development and transformation challenges. These include:

• Improving effectiveness of public sector spending on physical infrastructure development and maintenance.
• Improving labour absorption, labour relations and job stability.
• Accelerating sustainable transformation through access to opportunity, finance and training.
• Reducing the impact of HIV and AIDS in construction
• Ensuring international competitiveness.

In 1997 government published the Green Paper on “Creating an Enabling Environment for Reconstruction, Growth and Development in the Construction Industry" paving the way for establishment of the cidb. The CIDB Act (Act 38 of 2000) was passed in October 2000 establishing the cidb mandate to lead stakeholders in construction development.