Page 37 - NHBRC Flipbook

From shoes to bricks

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‘Don’t be afraid of the
male-dominated
construction industry - Pretty Buthelezi sold
because you are as good
as the men. After all, shoes on the streets of
we manage homes
Durban before moving
too.’
into construction. Now,

having notched up nine

years of experience, she

recently completed a

R17 million project, writes

SUE GRANT-MARSHALL

opportunity

BUILDING HER FUTURE Pretty Buthelezi shows it is possible for a woman to succeed in male-dominated industries like construction PHOTO: ELIZABETH SEJAKE
In the beginning Hurdles
Pretty Buthelezi has been working for herself since she left Sparks “When you come from a previously disadvantaged background and
Estate Secondary School in Durban “because my single-parent mother you are a woman, that is a challenge,” she says and pauses for a moment.
had no money for tertiary education”. “Some men like to team up with us just to get points because the
Buthelezi, an only child, learnt when she was really young to look after government has an equity point system. But these men don’t empower
herself. Her cash-strapped mother, who used to pack milk for a dairy us. And when I started out they said they couldn’t take orders ‘from a
farmer, taught her to sell clothing from door to door in KwaMashu. young girl’.”
“She gave me sweets to sell too, which earned me some pocket money. Another problem for Buthelezi was clients not paying. “At one stage I
So the whole thing of being a businesswoman started right there.” was on the verge of bankruptcy because one didn’t pay me on time”,
When she finished school, Buthelezi decided to sell shoes with a group says the married mother of four children who lives in New Germany,
of street-vendor friends because “shoes don’t rot like vegetables do”. near Pinetown.
There were months when it was lucrative. “In December, we’d make
up to R30 000. But then the Chinese arrived and sales plummeted. So I
decided to open my own business,” she says. Overcoming obstacles
At first, Buthelezi thought of running a cleaning business but then Buthelezi’s attitude to male staff who tell her that a woman’s place is
she met a civil engineer who taught her everything he could about in the home is to show them she knows her story. She says: “I am
the construction industry. confident. I know what I am doing.
He warned her that it was male-dominated and that she “But I am humble. I am not overbearing and I respect them. I
would “need to be strong”. A project in partnership with the bring them up to my level, I don’t drop down to theirs. And I
Undaunted, she registered CeCe Trading and, with her tell them: ‘Look guys, I need you as much as you need me. It’s
friend’s mentorship, acquired her first project – building a NHBRC a two-way thing.’”
school ablution block. Her financial problems were solved when Standard Bank
“Actually, the project was initially given to a man who granted her an overdraft facility, something she says she was
couldn’t afford to buy the material.” “astonished” by.
The client told him to get help from Buthelezi and the whole job,
worth R900 000, was awarded to her in 2005.
“What a responsibility – I was really nervous,” she recalls. Next step
She completed it on time and soon Ithala Finance Development Buthelezi wants to spread her wings and expand to other provinces
Corporation gave her more project work on schools in Mbumbulu, outside KwaZulu-Natal. “It’s important for businesspeople to keep
KwaMakhuta and Folweni. moving.”
From 2007, she moved on to upgrading and expanding schools.
Buthelezi obtained a diploma in 2009 in Construction Management TALK TO US
at Varsity College Westville because she wanted to “excel”. Dreams and goals
She has also worked for the Coega Development Corporation, building Email projects@ “I want to be a world-class female contractor and erect high-rise
four schools for them in Port Shepstone. citypress. buildings. Road construction is another good area to be in as you make
Her most recent project was a big school in Harding, worth R17 million. co.za, tweet @City_Press more money there.”
Now she’s expanded out of KwaZulu-Natal to help build a school in #OppIndex or SMS us on 34263
Bloemfontein. using the keyword ‘PROJECTS’
“I don’t do the plastering, bricklaying, and so on, myself but I can tell and tell us what you are The National Home Builders Registration
if a brick is not sitting straight long before the engineer inspects a Council (NHBRC) is important…
project,” she says. Buthelezi makes a point of being on site much of the interested in. Please include your “The more exposure I get in the construction industry, the more I will
time. “I’m not a desk person,” she says. name. SMSes cost R1.50 each learn, and I hope to get the opportunity to expand into housing.”

You’ve moved into your new home, now what?

Tips when occupying your new home: . Whether doors and windows ‘Running in’ your home cupboard doors open to boost air . Letting steam out by opening
. Inspect it carefully and draw open and close properly Dry out your home circulation in the drying-out period. windows. A closed room in which
up a list of all problems and defects. . All electricity and water services . Minimise dampness and Prevent condensation by producing steam and damp are trapped will
Submit this to your builder within 90 and if they are working condensation problems by leaving less moisture by: gather mould.
days of the date of occupation. Keep . Whether all the extras you windows open for as long as you can . Cooking with covered pots and Efflorescence is the white deposit
a record of this correspondence. ordered have been supplied . To lessen cracking, keep an not leaving the kettle boiling on inside walls caused by natural
Pay particular attention to: . Keys to all the locks, that you even temperature – as the building . Avoiding portable gas heaters salts coming from the wall. If
. All sanitary ware have them and they work properly dries out, the evaporated moisture because they create a great amount deposits continue, it might indicate a
. Fireplace surrounds, wall tiles . Stop valves and main electrical needs to be ventilated away of water vapour when they burn water leak, in which case you should
and splashbacks switches and where they are located. . Leave internal doors and . Putting clothes outside to dry contact your home builder.