“SBI International Holdings AG is an international global construction and development company. It has been active for the last 70 years in East and West Africa, South America and Eastern Europe. In this Interview Mr Yaron Dunsky, managing director of SBI in Uganda, explains the soul of their operations.
Nnyonyi: You have been in the construction business for more than 10 years. Now at the helm of SBI International Holdings in Uganda, tell us the company’s success philosophy
Yaron Dunsky. We are a world class infrastructure development company who have won many contracts over the years.
A good infrastructure development company should have the following attributes: a solid track record proven over many years of delivery of successful projects, corporate social responsibility as evidenced in their assistance to communities in which they operate, sensitivity to the environment through the use of environmentally friendly material and processes and maintenance of a healthy, well trained work force. SBI ranks high in most of these attributes and this is what has made us successful over many decades.
NN. How does SBI comply with environmental standards, labour standards and work man safety as a company?
YD. We provide awareness through training and educational programmes to ensure the safety of our workers. Through an Intergrated Management System (comprising of Quality Assurance, Environmental Protection, Occupation Health & Safety Management Systems), the management has taken precautionary measures to ensure protection of the environment and safety of all persons in all areas of its operations.
The system policy conforms to International Standard as follows; Quality Assurance-ISO 9001:2008, Environmental Protection-ISO 14001:2004 and Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems-OHSAS 18001:2007.
NN. What is your current staffing at SBI Uganda?
YD. SBI Uganda has a nose for talent, but it’s search falls in line with the business’s overall corporate social responsibility policy. SBI considers the very communities it works in to find local, indigenous talent to drive forward the company’s future.
“Our policy is to look for talent within the local workforce to help improve the community and ensure we’re getting the people we need,” Dunsky says.
Dunsky adds, “We’re investing in training, in workshops for our people, across all disciplines from logistics to technology, engineering, contract management, accounting and IT.”
NN. Some foreign companies have corporate social responsibility engagements, is SBI Uganda in this category?
YD. We place heavy emphasis on implementing our Corporate Social Responsibility policies. This includes supporting and giving back to the local communities in Uganda.
Our CSR perspective is Uganda at large. It is not limited only to areas where we have projects. Our initiative is to touch an unlimited number of people as much as our budget can allow. We have a continuous project of sustaining Kiboga Hospital operations and we provide resident Israeli doctors whom we sustain to serve the Kiboga Community’s health needs.
NN. We have heard instances where contracts have been cancelled by UNRA over poor works. As a construction company, what is your take on this?
YD. The key of SBI’s success is the company’s performance and successful track record of completed projects over the years. When we handle a project, we make sure that the focus is on the right priorities. We are operating for the long run, which means the quality of our work is a top priority. We offer levels of quality performance that are always to the satisfaction of our clients.
