Khato Civils, the Pride of Black Owned Construction Giants
Friday, October 06, 2017
Khato Civils headquarters at Midrand, Johannesburg
During their recently held Annual General Meeting in Johannesburg, the executive chairman of the two civil works and engineering companies Simbi Phiri proudly announced that his companies have been graded level 9 in Civil Engineering, general building, mechanical engineering and electrical infrastructure.
To put the Khato Civils and South Zambezi’s impressive grading credentials into context , the latest CIDB report released in July says that most black owned contractors make grades 2-4. The CIDB report also observes that black ownership is lower in mechanical, electrical and specialist engineering contractors and significantly lower in grade 9, at around 25-30%.
That sounds like good news. But the report also warns that this may simply be because our digital economy is still young, not because we are safe. As more people shop, bank and pay online, criminals will follow.We Batswana do not need a report to tell us that danger is real. Many of us have heard of or fallen victim to KYC scams. A caller impersonates your bank or mobile money provider. They say they need to “verify” your account. They ask...