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Date
: 17/05/2005
Source: Department of Public Works
Title:Sigcau: Public Works Dept Budget Vote policy debate,
NCOP
The Minister of Public Works, Ms Stella Sigcau, MP, delivers
her NCOP Budget Vote speech, National Council of Provinces,
Parliament, Cape Town
Honourable Chairperson
The Honourable Deputy Minister of Public Works, Mr Ntopile
Kganyago
The Honourable Chairperson of the Select Committee on Public
Services, Mr RJ Tau
All MECs from the various provinces
Honourable Members
Senior managers from the Department
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
INTRODUCTION
The Department of Public Works (DPW) undertook a major
restructuring exercise in 2003/04 to improve its capacity to be
able to deliver efficiently and effectively relying primarily on
its network of regional offices. The aim has been to bring our
services closer to our clients’ operations. Our regional
offices have also been building relations with their provincial and
municipal counterparts, with the aim of achieving a more integrated
approach.
MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2004/2005
THE EXPANDED PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAMME
One of the key programmes to be launched by government is the
Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), which is operational in all
the nine provinces. In the first nine months of the programme, R2.4
billion was spent on 1 890 projects to create 144 056 gross job
opportunities. This exceeds the target of 130 000 opportunities for
the first year of the programme.
The role of my department in the programme is to put in place an
enabling environment and to facilitate the roll-out of the
programme. The EPWP is a government-wide programme and its success
depends on provinces and municipalities taking ownership of the
programme and using their budgets to create more employment coupled
with training for the unemployed. The DPW has a strong unit in
place, which is available to provide provinces and municipalities
with advice, drawing on the best practices from around the country.
We are confident that, with the co-operation of all organs of state
in all spheres of government, the EPWP will continue on yearly
basis to exceed its employment creation targets, and make a
significant contribution to alleviating unemployment and promoting
‘a nation at work’.
The expansion of Limpopo’s Gundo Lashu labour-intensive roads
programme under the EPWP to date is an example of how the programme
can work. The Gundo Lashu programme, which began as an initiative
of the Limpopo Provincial Government, has gained national
recognition as an example of best practice. This programme has now
been expanded to all nine provinces, with 32 provincial departments
and municipalities having signed Memoranda of Understanding with
national DPW and the Construction Sector Education and Training
Authority (SETA) to enable the similar recruitment and training of
500 contractors and 1 000 supervisors.
The EPWP unit in DPW has facilitated this expansion. This
facilitation has included putting in place agreements with various
partners in the programme, including agreements with ABSA Bank to
provide access to credit and bridging finance for the learner
contractors, with the Construction SETA to provide the funding for
the training and the IDT to provide social facilitation services.
The participating provinces and municipalities use their
infrastructure budgets to provide the learner contractors with
practical training projects. A Memorandum of Understanding will
soon be signed with First National Bank, which will help our people
gain access to finance even further.
The established business community is starting to join us in our
endeavour to implement the EPWP. The Business Trust has committed
R100 million to provide programme management support to all levels
of government, to ensure that lack of capacity is not an impediment
to implementing the EPWP. This programme management support is
currently being put in place on the ground.
All of these learner labour-intensive contractors are registering
on level one or two on the Construction Industry Development
Board’s Register of Contractors, and by the end of their
learnerships they will have acquired the necessary experience and
track record to register at level three or four of the Register.
Each of these contractors will typically employ between 50 and 100
people on labour-intensive construction sites. This initiative will
therefore simultaneously make a significant contribution to
broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) and develop the
management and supervisory skills required to manage
labour-intensive construction projects in an efficient and
cost-effective manner.
Another provincial EPWP initiative, which has gained national
recognition as an example of best practice, is
KwaZulu-Natal’s Zibambele programme, under which women are
appointed as road maintenance contractors in rural areas. We are
currently working with the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport to
produce a plan to also expand this programme to other provinces and
municipalities.
Honourable Chairperson, during the past financial year my Ministry
has challenged big business through their corporate social
investment budgets in support of our efforts to promote development
through EPWP. Both Siemens, Microsoft SA, Anglo American and First
National Bank have responded in a manner that will move the process
forward.
Siemens, Microsoft SA and I have formulated an agreement to help
“BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE” in rural South Africa. A
pilot project will be launched in the Harding Municipality in the
next few weeks. The two companies have also donated computers to
the learner contractors of the Western Cape to assist with their
entrepreneurial development.
The Chief Executive of Anglo American and I have set out the way
forward for his company to “Adopt a Village”.
Credit goes to the Independent Development Trust (IDT), which
assisted my office with the mobilisation process as we engaged big
businesses. Mandated by Parliament through the Ministry of Public
Works to manage the implementation of government development
programmes, the IDT supports all spheres of government in meeting
their development targets. In 2004/05, the IDT set up over 344 new
community structures and also project-managed, among others, the
construction of 141 schools in the Eastern Cape and another 124
infrastructure projects in Gauteng under the Zivuseni Poverty
Alleviation Programme.
The IDT is also supporting provinces in the rolling out and
implementation of the EPWP. The IDT has been supporting provinces
to develop the provincial framework and business plans for the
implementation of the EPWP as well as playing a Programme
Implementing Agent role in Mpumalanga, North West, Western Cape and
Eastern Cape, with agreements with Gauteng and Free State being
finalised.
ACCOMMODATING GOVERNMENT
With regard to its function of providing for the accommodation
needs of national government departments, the Department spent
approximately R3 billion on various capital works projects during
the past financial year. By the end of the financial year, the
Department had fully spent its capital budgets for 11 out of 12
client departments and fully spent its own capital and maintenance
budgets.
Some of the notable capital works projects that were successfully
undertaken included the R109 million upgrading of the Port
Elizabeth Magistrate Court Building and the commencement of the
construction of the R42 million South African Police Service (SAPS)
and Justice Complex at Motherwell near Port Elizabeth. Two other
police stations were handed over to SAPS at Tsomo and King
William’s Town in the Eastern Cape. In Gauteng a R40 million
Tembisa Magistrate Offices, a R1.2 million Soweto Local Criminal
Record Centre and a R6.5 million upgraded Mabopane police station
were delivered.
Two Community Safety Centres (CSCs) were completed - one at
Tshidilamolomo in Northwest for R8.5 million and the other at
Galeshewe in the Northern Cape for R35 million. This means that
since the opening of the first centre at Tembalethu near George in
the Western Cape in October 2000, all the provinces except
Mpumalanga and the Free State now have a Community Safety Centre,
in realisation of the goal of the National Integrated Crime Control
Strategy of government. In the Free State, a completed R15 million
police station at Mangaung was handed over to SAPS in June
2004.
In the Western Cape, the R103 million refurbishment project of 9
Plein Street for the use of Parliament was completed and delivered
on schedule. Earlier this year, we handed over the R30 million
renovated Parliamentary Media Centres to the GCIS at 120 Plein
Street. Included in the project was the upgrading of the Cabinet
Room in Tuynhys to accommodate the Presidential Press Corps as part
of information sharing and democratisation.
It was with pride that we completed the R4.3 million Inkosi Albert
Luthuli Legacy Project in KwaZulu-Natal and handed it over to the
Department of Arts and Culture in honour of the struggle stalwart
who laid concrete foundations for the democratic South Africa that
belongs to all who live in it, black and white.
In the Northern Cape, more than R8 million repairs and renovations
projects were undertaken on behalf of the Department of Defence at
Kimberley and a R9 million police station were constructed for the
SAPS.
BUDGETS AND FOCUS AREAS FOR 2005/2006
In 2005/06, the National Department of Public Works will manage the
expenditure of R7.5 billion, which is made up of its own budget of
R5.5 billion and R2 billion worth of projects funded from the
budgets of its client departments. The Department’s own
budget is comprised of a R1.28 billion for leasing, R1.08 billion
for municipal services, R947 million for property rates, R927 nine
million for maintenance, R946 million for personnel and
administration as well as R372 million for the capital works.
BUILDING PROGRAMME FOR 2005/2006
Some of the highlights of the department’s building programme
for 2005/06 include the construction of three new embassies in
Ethiopia, Lesotho and Nigeria; and the construction of four New
Generation Prisons in Northern Cape (Kimberley), North West
(Klerksdorp) and Gauteng (Nigel and Leeuwkop). The total cost of
these prisons is estimated to be more than R1 billion.
Other major capital works will include two construction projects
for Correctional Services worth R12 million and R6 million at
Potchefstroom and Mogwase respectively, as well as two others for
SAPS at Jouberton (R18 million) and Amalia (R8 million) – all
in the North West province.
Both SAPS and Correctional Services in the Eastern Cape will
benefit from the construction of the R43 million police
headquarters at Bisho and a R21.5 million piggery at the
Middelsdrift correctional facility. A R22 million Nerina Place of
Safety is under construction for Justice.
In Gauteng, a R169 million New Pretoria Campus for the National
Library of South Africa is under construction on behalf of the
Department of Arts and Culture and another R36 million major
upgrading of the SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory is under way in
Tshwane.
In the Free State, we shall undertake, in phases, upgrading and
renovations projects worth more than R85 million at 3 Military
Hospital on behalf of Defence. Others include the R16 million
upgrading and renovations at Goedemoed Prison for Correctional
Services and the construction of R7 million and R6 million police
stations at Verkykerskop and Phuthaditjhaba, respectively.
In response to the President’s call, we shall intensify our
communication with our client departments to plan early and
prioritise for the delivery of at least two community courts per
province as well as to find alternative accommodation for the
children currently in custody particularly in KwaZulu-Natal,
Western Cape and Gauteng.
INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE SERVICE DELIVERY IN 2005/06
The Department is embracing the President’s call to
“turn every public servant into an activist for social
delivery”. Internally, the Department has launched a
Management Charter known as the DPW Leadership Way with the aim of
introducing a new management ethos in the Department and to address
problems such as low staff morale, poor management practices, lack
of urgency and lack of customer focus. Integrity, urgency, client
focus and team-work are some of the values ingrained in the
Leadership Way. Deviations will be met with full might of our
disciplinary machinery.
The Department is also implementing a large-scale Service Delivery
Improvement Programme as part of its strategic drive to improve
customer service and offer value for money to clients. This
programme includes setting service delivery standards, introducing
more business-like management methods, and entering into service
level agreements with client departments. Problems of capacity are
also receiving attention through the recruitment of learners,
interns and young professionals onto mentorship programmes in the
Department.
CONTRIBUTION TO BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT IN 2005/06
The department has carried out reviews of some of its existing
programmes, including the Repair and Maintenance Programme (RAMP)
and the Emerging Contractor Development Programme (ECDP. One of the
improvements resulting from these reviews is the Department’s
new Contractor Incubator Programme, under which a group of 81
medium-sized black contractors have been selected for mentoring and
training with the aim of providing them with the opportunity to
become successful large contractors. Our mentorship programme has
the development of business management expertise as its core focus.
Approximately R182 million worth of work per prison will be
executed by the contractors on the Contractor Incubator Programme
on each of the four New Generation Prisons.
Challenges related to tendering that were previously identified are
currently being addressed through the alignment of our systems to
the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act and the Supply
Chain Framework. The outcomes will entail more transparency,
simplicity, standardisation of procurement procedures across the
public sector as well as alignment with the BEE legislation.
To eradicate the scourge of fronting, we are tightening our
procurement procedures in particular with regard to where
preference points are being claimed. We have appointed a service
provider to screen and verify credentials given in the supplier
register, in a number of cases the revelations are shocking. Stern
measures will be taken against anybody misrepresenting facts with a
purpose to deceive.
CONSTRUCTION AND PROPERTY INDUSTRY TRANSFORMATION CHARTERS
Current efforts to develop and transform the construction and
property industries include the processes to produce Transformation
Charters. A target has been set for both of these charters to be
finalised and launched in September 2005.
EXPEDITING PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY PROCESSES
The President raised serious concerns about the capacity of the
public service to implement programmes aimed at addressing the
infrastructure backlogs inherited from the past. For example, he
mentioned weaknesses in the governance system which results in the
school building programme unfolding at a much slower pace than
envisaged and delays with the allocation of infrastructure
grants.
Together with its counterparts at provincial level, the Department
is working on a number of programmes aimed at addressing these
concerns. The Infrastructure Delivery Improvement Programme, which
we are implementing together with the Construction Industry
Development Board, National Treasury, and the Development Bank of
Southern Africa, involves working with provinces and municipalities
to improve the management of infrastructure programmes, from
project planning through to procurement, project delivery and
maintenance.
Another important programme in this regard is the implementation of
the Contractors’ and Projects’ registers by the
Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), as required by the
CIDB Act. Over the past year the Contractors’ register was
piloted in Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, and will be
implemented nation-wide by the end of 2005.
The main aim of the Contractor’s register is to make the
construction industry more sustainable. The implementation of this
register will result in a reduction in the number of contracts
which have to be cancelled due to poor performance by contractors.
It will also provide a framework for the development of
contractors, and will provide incentives for construction companies
to improve their compliance to minimum governance standards,
including occupational health and safety.
Let me take this opportunity to commend the initiative taken by the
leading industry stakeholders in declaring this week i.e. 16 to 20
May 2005, as the “Construction Health and Safety Week”
to coincide with the international conference scheduled in Port
Elizabeth from 17 to 20 May 2005 subtitled Rethinking and
Revitalising Construction Safety, Health, Environment and
Quality.
PROPOSED LEGISLATION FOR 2005/06
The Department has produced a government-wide Immovable Asset
Management policy and is currently drafting a Bill to table in
Parliament during the course of this year. The aim of the Bill will
be to establish uniformity and ensure the application of minimum
norms and standards in the management of immovable assets across
all spheres of government.
The Expropriation Act of 1975 was last amended in 1994, and the
department has engaged the services of external legal experts to
work on the amendments. The Department also intends to bring these
amendments to Parliament during the course of this year.
IMPROVING THE PHYSICAL WORK ENVIRONMENT OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE
The 2005 Programme of Action requires the Departments of Public
Works and Public Service and Administration (DPSA) to develop a
framework to improve the physical work environment. Some of the
elements of this framework are already being put into place,
including the proposed government-wide Immovable Asset Management
policy, the Infrastructure Delivery Improvement Programme, the
Department’s Service Delivery Improvement Programme and plans
for improving accommodation.
Together with the Demand Side Management unit of ESKOM, the
Department will also be implementing an energy saving programme on
various government facilities such as prisons, magistrates’
courts, police stations and office buildings. The aim of the
programme is to optimise the utilisation of electricity on the
identified facilities. I am inviting honourable members who can
make it to join me at a walkabout as we celebrate Energy Efficient
Month at 1 Military Hospital at Thaba Tshwane, Gauteng, on
Thursday, 19 May 2005.
CONCLUSION
Despite the constraints of a budget, which is limited in comparison
to the backlogs, the Department of Public Works is focused on
delivering on its mandate and on improving the quality of services
to its client departments. The various departmental programmes and
initiatives which I have described will increasingly lead to
improved audit reports, better customer-service and improved
service delivery to the public.
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