STRONG PHILOSOPHY STRONG FOUNDATION

Founded in 2006, Kwazulu Natal-based Black Balance is an economic development and engineering consulting company. A joint venture between Exec Directors Mel Clark and Malcolm Biggar, “When we started talking about a joint venture in 2005 we saw the opportunity to bring our economic expertise and knowledge of engineering to create an entity with broader skills base and one year later black Balance was born.”

Their main focus is government and municipal contracts such as the construction of waste management infrastructure, road and buildings owned by the local municipality, “We have looked to capture a small segment of the South African engineering and property development market, with the majority of our projects being government tenders,” says Mel.

There are many benefits to having cornered this particular market, not least of which is the ability to fulfil important areas of the company’s philosophy, “When we are looking at a project we examine both the most effective way to complete it and how it can be used to empower the local community. Sometimes on smaller projects this is not possible, but on the larger programmes we will always try our best to provide the empowerment opportunities to local black owned companies, “ says Mel. “There have been a lot of changes in South Africa since 1994 and the end of apartheid, but unfortunately there are still prejudices to overcome. Being in the position where we can choose to empower local companies and local people we can give them the experience needed to help effect that change.”

To help achieve this empowerment, when Black Balance is involved with a project, it ensures that the balance of the budget is spent in the local community, “Normally there’s an 80/20 split in the budget, with 20 perfect being spent in the community where the project is taking place and the remaining 80 percent will leave once it is completed. Consequently the amount of money that will enter and benefit the local economy is greatly reduced,” Mel says, “we aim for 50-60 percent of the budget to go directly to people in the local area.”

What Black Balance attempt to ensure is that as much of the construction activity is subcontracted

to sizeable community-based organisations, thereby creating opportunity for community based organisations to grow, “So if we have a project worth R20 million, we would divide this into four R5 million contractors and empower four local contractors directly,” says Mel.

It is a method that has garnered a lot of interest from the business partners as a way of empowering previously disadvantaged communities, “From a sub consultancy point of view, Black Balance will look to appointing smaller organisations to assist with the volumes of consultancy work and thereby grow these smaller practices into sustainable companies,” he adds.

“In addition, ancillary works associated with our practice are outsourced to companies who need empowerment, this way we hope to contribute to the economic uplift of our beloved country.”

The firm’s current main project is a pipeline that will serve the iLembe District Municipality of Kwazulu Natal. The total project value is R1.2 billion and could last up to 30 years. The initial phase which has gone out to tender is a R20 million emergency pipeline installation. Currently, many of the rural villages in iLembe do not have access to potable water. Water is either brought in by tanker and held in large storage vessels, or the village may have a borehole with a standpipe. Neither situation is desirable, as residents have to walk up to 200 metres to get potable water, which they then have to carry all the way back to their house, but this new development is set to change that.

“The first stage is a major pipeline that will be laid within the R102 highway road reserve that runs parallel with the coastline about 8km inland,” Mel explains, “From there we will reticulate east and west to reach the towns and villages in the iLembe district municipality,”

“With this project we will be reaching some of the most impoverished sections of KZN and hopefully make it so that, by the time we have finished, each person has a tap in their own house and not 200 metres away,” Mel says. “We are already in talks with the procurement department of the iLembe district municipality about how to proceed according

Black Balance Projects

With such competition today it is great to see companies focussed more on social/economic development and following on philosophies than just making a buck. Jack Slater catches up with Mel Clark Executive Director of Black Balance Projects.

Black Balance Projects

to our principles. This initial phase had been an emergency installation, but from here we can think more about how to empower the local community.”

“The scale of this project will really enable us to really put our philosophy into practice using local suppliers as much as we can. We will also be working to ensure that the people who work with us at the construction phase will be the ones who will continue to be there for the maintenance and development of the project even after we have left. We are looking to improve people’s lives by given them better access to water and also to boost the local economy at the same time,”

It is an ambitious wish-list but that is what Black Balance is about. The challenge now, according to Mel is to secure additional funding the continuing stages of the project, “There is enough investment to put in place the bulk of what we have planned and we are now helping the district to locate extra sources of money that will allow us to get the reticulation extended and the project complete.”

From all of this one thing is clear: Black Balance isn’t so much a company with a corporate philosophy as two men’s philosophy turned into a company, and that’s what makes it work. The desire to use improvement works such as roads or housing or pipelines to really benefit the community where these things are being built in a way that goes beyond the project itself is the firm’s unique selling point, and one that is piquing the interest of both potential and actual clients.

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Black Balance Projectswww.blackbalance.co.za +27 31 201 2910

Written by Jack Slater

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