20th Anniversary of the Power Group

Respondents were asked to nominate outstanding companies/government sectors and then rate them on the following corporate care definitions, on a rating scale where 5 is excellent, 4 is very good and 3 is good, in the following corporate care categories:

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  BEE – Equity, BEE ownership in the company, in management and development in the company of previously disenfranchised people
  
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  Corporate governance – Triple bottom line reporting, transparency and ethics
  
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  Education – Primary, secondary and tertiary education. Bursaries, building and upgrading schools, providing computers, etc
  
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  Environmental care – Enhancing the South African environment, making good any possible damage to the environment, teaching staff and communities how (ie saving water, eco tourism, etc)
  
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  Job creation and training – Creating extra jobs within the company, learnerships, active training within the job environment
  
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  Primary healthcare – In-house clinics and health education for staff. Community support, sponsorship of health centers, training and financial support for combating Aids, TB, malaria, etc
  
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  Social upliftment – Provision of housing (inc staff loans), development of communities and community centers, sport and recreation centers, support of NGOs
  
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  War against crime – Support and sponsorship of the police, support community policing forums, training staff and communities in self defense and crime fighting efforts
  

11 861 ratings were sourced from financial services, listed and unlisted companies, Trade Unions, SOEs, stock broking firms, government (national, provincial and local) and business associations. See back page for a further sample breakdown.
Finalists are those companies and government sectors who have made the cut-off criteria in their sectors of being rated by at least 10% of the sample and with a minimum overall rating of 3.00 out of 5 (applicable both to categories and overall).

How the survey was conducted

Universe: A database of 500 companies including financial services, listed and unlisted companies, and Trade Unions, stock broking firms, government (national, provincial and local) and business associations. The survey was conducted nationally. Timing: Interviews were conducted during September 2004. Sample: A total of 150 respondents were interviewed. 52 comprising directors/deputy directors and communication directors/managers from national, provincial and local government. 20 comprising MDs, executive directors and other senior personal form trade unions, SOEs and business associations. 78 companies comprising analysts, stock brokers, asset managers, MDs, executive directors, marketing directors/managers and corporate communication directors/managers. Methodology: Interviews were carried out telephonically utilising semi-structured questionnaires. The survey was conducted on a national basis. Back-checks were conducted at all stages of the fieldwork, data capture and analysis stages. A full 100% of the questionnaires were checked for input quality and completeness prior to data capture.

Individual industry sector tables
587 ratings sourced overall

Corporate care category	Industry - Construction	Overall rating	Award eligibility
BEE	Grinaker-LTA Ltd	4.29	Diamond
	Murray & Roberts	4.06	Gold
	Power Group of Companies	4.00	Silver
	Group Five Ltd	3.93	Finalist
Corporate governance	Murray & Roberts	4.04	Gold
	Power Group of Companies	4.00	Silver
	Group Five Ltd	3.91	Finalist
	Grinaker-LTA Ltd	3.67	Finalist
Education	Power Group of Companies	4.11	Diamond
	Murray & Roberts	3.76	Gold
	Group Five Ltd	3.47	Silver
Environmental care	Group Five Ltd	3.95	Gold
	Murray & Roberts	3.82	Silver
	Power Group of Companies	3.71	Finalist
	Grinaker-LTA Ltd	3.70	Finalist
Job creation and training	Power Group of Companies	4.18	Diamond
	Grinaker-LTA Ltd	4.00	Gold
	Group Five Ltd	3.93	Silver
	Murray & Roberts	3.88	Finalist
Primary healthcare	Power Group of Companies	4.00	Gold
	Murray & Roberts	3.90	Silver
	Group Five Ltd	3.67	Finalist
Social upliftment	Grinaker-LTA Ltd	4.31	Diamond
	Power Group of Companies	4.29	Gold
	Murray & Roberts	4.19	Silver
	Group Five Ltd	4.00	Finalist
War against crime	Power Group of Companies	4.20	Diamond
	Murray & Roberts	3.92	Gold
	Group Five Ltd	3.73	Silver
	Grinaker-LTA Ltd	3.43	Finalist

October 2004
Another win for Power Developments . . Eastern Cape Housing Developer of the Year
Power Developments has done it again! This time the company has been lauded as the IHSA Housing Developer os the year for the Eastern Cape region. The institute for Housing of South Africa bestowed the kudos on Power Developments for its contribution in 2003 towards affordable housing during the R40 million projects at Peddie and Ugie. In a record time of less than nine months, the company had managed to deliver homes to 664 families in Ugie and 710 in Peddie – to the same exacting standards adhered to by the rest of Power Group of Companies.
The company was named Western Cpe Housing Regional Developer in 1998, 2001 and 2003. In 1998 it won the National award as market leader in affordable housing and in 2002 Power Developments took Best Established Developer Award at the National Housing Awards.
Notwithstanding Power Developments’ award winning performance in affordable housing, that side of the business now falls under Khayalethu Projects – the empowerment company formed in September 2003 to sepcialise in affordable housing projects nationallt and in tenders on state land.
Khayalethu (meaning “our Home”) has already proven itself a worthy successor to the Power Developments trail of tributes, while Power Developments itself is now concentrating on multi-million Rand turnkey developments such as Thesen Islands at Knysna.
Mark Julie is Managing Director of Khayalethu Projects and a director of Power Developments. He attributes Power’s exceptional performance at Ugie and PEddie to the company’s approach of “single-point responsibility” in which the developer is accountable for the entire process – including efficient communication with all government departments and other role players.
Julie explains: “In each project we employed only a core management structure on site. About 10 staff members managed the distribution of material to builders and maintained efficient quality control. Power Developments appointed the entire professional team and followed an integrated design process in order to maximize the funds available for the top structures in each of the two developments. We used about 311 local subcontractors and their teams for house construction and a total of 1 200 local labourers and artisans. In this way we created jobs, trained people, transferred skills and ultimately empowered more than 1 500 people in the process.” He said.
Power Developments had accepted all risks in the two developments with zero financial risk to either the Eastern Cape Provincial Housing Department or the Municipality. In both cases a Housing Support Committee was formed consisting of Power Developments, community leaders and the Municipality. The committees met monthly to review and discuss the progress of the projects the quality of production as well as the resolution of any problems within each project.
Other efficiencies also came into play to ensure the success of the two projects, which provide housing for those living on incomes of under R1 500 per month. Materials were of very high quality, and had been ordered in bulk from local suppliers where possible. These stocks were kept on site, eliminating unnecessary delivery delays – a further cost and time saving.
Furthermore, Power Developments had designed a unique computerized system to manage material distribution, control waste, ensure quality and speed up payment of local contractors.