The 2010 SAAMA Gala event was held on the 24th of March 2010 close to OR Tambo airport, Johannesburg. The event was very well attended, with close on 70 people joining us for the evening.  Our sponsors, ABB, PPC and Pragma Africa, were well represented, with the event being a great opportunity for them to network with their clients, bit more importantly to thank them for their contribution over the past year.

Our audit finalists were also represented, with awards handed out to Dwarsrivier Mine, BCL, Rand Water and PE Harbour Manganese Terminal.  The awards process gives companies the chance to benchmark themselves against other companies which SAAMA has audited over the past years and we also give the finalists some advice as to where to focus their efforts in improving their asset management maturity.

Our keynote speaker, Malcolm Simpson, of National Treasury, took us backstage for the Soccer World Cup stadium project. Malcolm was the project manager responsible for the stadiums from the Treasury perspective. He explained the intricacies involved with not only the engineering and politics side of things, but more importantly how they managed to come in on budget and on time for all the stadiums.

If the Gala event is the benchmark for things to come for SAAMA, then we are in for exciting times. SAAMA has a much bigger role to play as well, especially with PAS55 now becoming a household name in the asset management circles.