Date: 12/09/2003
Source: Ministry of Public Works
Title: Sigcau: Parliamentary Media Briefing, September 2003
STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS, STELLA SIGCAU AT THE GCIS PARLIAMENTARY MEDIA BRIEFING, 12 September 2003
The Deputy Minister of Public Works, Reverend Musa Zondi
The Director-General, Mr James Maseko
Senior Managers of the Department
GCIS staff
Ladies and Gentlemen of the media
INTRODUCTION
Today's briefing will focus on three core areas of our mandate mainly construction industry development, the Expanded Public Works Programme and property disposal (as part of our fixed asset management function).
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT
Here we shall highlight some of the interventions we have initiated in our bid to create an enabling environment for the continued growth and transformation of the construction industry.
The recent Growth and Development Summit reaffirmed the critical role of the industry, as a national asset, to lead major infrastructure requirements posed by government development programmes, including the Expanded Public Works Programme.
Empowerment Credit System
This department has launched targeted procurement as a means of giving preference to previously disadvantaged individuals and companies. Since its inception a lot of achievements have been made in providing opportunities to historically disadvantaged enterprises. This, however, was not without challenges. These good intentions of the department have, in some cases, been abused through practices such as fronting, which are costly to government.
During an evaluation of our procurement practices to ensure alignment with the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act and the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Framework, the Department has developed a system to address broader empowerment objectives and the problem of fronting, among others.
The department is currently developing an empowerment credit system, which is strongly based on the BEE Framework and the empowerment scorecard. This system will monitor actual performance of contractors and consultants on contracts. Credits will be given to contractors and consultants based on actual performance rather than on the promises that were traditionally made when tendering. These credits can then be redeemed on award of contract and future performance can earn the contractor more credits. Contributions that will be recognised for purposes of this system will include BEE, empowerment of women, youth and disabled, community development, social responsibility programmes, learnerships and bursaries.
Construction Summit
Preparations for the Construction Summit are underway. The aim of the Construction Summit is to develop a common vision between government, labour and industry as it pertains to the construction industry. The broad theme of government's position for the summit is "The creation of a better built environment for accelerated socio-economic development and improved service delivery".
The construction chamber of Nedlac facilitates the process, which will culminate in a construction sector summit early next year. The Department of Public Works is coordinating government's position.
The department has invited other government departments' involved in infrastructure development to participate in an inter-departmental infrastructure policy committee (IIPC) to develop a consolidated policy position paper for government. The departments invited to participate in the workgroup include Transport, Provincial and Local Government, Housing, Water Affairs and National Treasury.
Critical issues that government is considering for presentation at Nedlac include transformation of the industry and BEE, development of capacity in the built environment professions, capacity in the supply side, development of artisan and technical skills in the construction industry, the use of labour-intensive approaches in construction as well as capacity of government to manage delivery.
As a build up to the Summit, the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Works held its own provincial summit on 8 to 9 September 2003. The Western Cape Public Works Department recently held a summit for women in construction as well. The rest of the provincial Departments of Public Works are expected to follow suit. Other public sector stakeholders will be consulted in the process and the various infrastructure departments will consult their provincial counterparts.
Development partnership with the Department of Defence
The Department of Public Works is currently exploring linkages and possible co-operation with the Ministry of Defence to join forces in combating poverty and developing a resource pool to address the developmental imperatives in South Africa. This may even culminate into a New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) initiative in future. The Department of Defence has a pool of built environment professionals and equipment, which can be utilised for infrastructure development purposes.
The Construction Registration Service
As envisaged in the Construction Industry Development Board (CIBD) Act, the Register of Projects and the Register of Contractors are being developed to promote improved demand and supply side performance. In essence the web-based Construction Registration Service currently under development constitutes a licensing vehicle to drive the principal objectives of industry development - improved performance, delivery, sustainable growth and transformation.
In co-operation with national and provincial departments of public works, and with the Ethekweni Metro, the CIDB, is currently piloting the comprehensive Construction Registration Service that will both shape and reflect progress in the capability and transformation of the South African construction industry.
I am pleased to announce that this service will be ready for rollout nationally from April 2004 and we are confident of the potential of this instrument to drive and measure BEE outcomes in the construction sector.
Public Sector Delivery Capacity
Efficient and effective public sector spending is fundamental to infrastructure delivery, job creation and sustainable enterprise development. In the context of government commitment to infrastructure and increasing budget allocations, all spheres of government and state-owned enterprises are challenged to increase the pace and efficiency of construction delivery.
We have therefore responded vigorously to the call made by the President in his State of the Nation Address to further improve the infrastructure delivery capability of the public sector. Commending the provinces for "significantly improved efficiency in the area of capital investment" he noted that not all the allocated funds would be spent and challenged us to address this shortcoming.
With the active support of national and provincial government, the CIDB has made significant progress on the development of the Infrastructure Delivery Management Toolkit (which incorporates work processes and guidelines). The toolkit forms the basis for a concerted capacity building programme and provides a practical guide for the entire delivery management and procurement cycle, from needs assessment to handover and maintenance of construction facilities.
The Construction Industry Stakeholder Forum
Last year's inaugural meeting of the Construction Industry Stakeholder Forum (June) confirmed significant constraints to growth, delivery and the performance levels needed to meet our domestic demand. The meeting endorsed the fundamental strategy for growth and reform. It endorsed the need for our delivery system and our industry to transform. It also highlighted the poor image of the industry and its failure to attract the cream of school leavers.
The decline in quantity and quality of built environment professionals is a subject of serious concern. The average age of built environment professionals is approximately 50 years and is increasing annually and we are thus unable to attract new skill into the industry. In order to address this, I have requested my department to engage both the public and private sectors to develop a strategy and implementation plan to deal with this issue, as it is critical to the development of the industry.
The Forum meeting of 80 stakeholder representatives further committed us all into taking action for positive change.
I am hopeful that this year's stakeholder forum meeting which will take place on 4 November under the banner of "a growing and better construction industry for all!" will take us a step further in realising our goals.
HIV and AIDS
We see HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention and treatment as part of the corporate social responsibility of construction companies and clients of the construction industry. I invite the construction companies to come up with concrete plans for the management of the disease, which include treatment of infected and affected employees.
EXPANDED PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAMME
Notwithstanding government successes in turning around the economy for the best, unemployment remains a key challenge afflicting our country, hence the announcement by President Thabo Mbeki to launch Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) as one of many initiatives by government to reduce levels of poverty.
The objectives of the EPWP are:
* To address investment in social and economic infrastructure
* To create large-scale job opportunities
* To develop human resources through skilling and training
As the Ministry responsible for the coordination of EPWP across government clusters, we are targeting the creation of over 1 million jobs in the next five years.
Summary of our projected work opportunities
Infrastructure Sector
* Labour-intensive provincial and municipal infrastructure - 500 000
* Other infrastructure programmes - 150 000
Environmental Sector
Working for Water - 125 000
Waste management - 20 000
Land Care - 20 000
Social Sector
To be announced
Economic Sector
To be announced
A total of 1 million plus targeted work opportunities are projected
This number of jobs includes the projected 500 000 jobs applicable to infrastructure programmes of EPWP.
This will range across capital projects, maintenance, ports and rail infrastructure, electrification, provincial and municipal infrastructure including a total of 37416 kilometres of provincial and municipal roads.
Provincial roads in kilometres
Limpopo: 1597
Mpumalanga: 1752
Gauteng: 2676
Free State: 1678
North West Province: 2936
Northern Cape: 979
Western Cape: 2915
Eastern Cape: 4640
KwaZulu-Natal: 7645
Total: 26 819
Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme - roads in kilometres
Limpopo: 629
Mpumalanga: 605
Gauteng: 1557
Free State: 647
North West Province: 484
Northern Cape: 9
Western Cape: 222
Eastern Cape: 3677
KwaZulu-Natal: 2768
Total :10 597
Total roads in kilometres
Limpopo: 2226
Mpumalanga: 2357
Gauteng: 4233
Free State: 2325
North West Province: 3420
Northern Cape: 988
Western Cape: 3137
Eastern Cape: 8317
KwaZulu-Natal: 10 413
Total: 37 416
We are encouraged by successful provincial programmes including Gundo Lashu in Limpopo, Zivuseni in Gauteng, Zibambele in KwaZulu-Natal and other labour-intensive initiatives in the Western Cape and these examples will be emulated when we rollout the programme at the national scale.
At a national level, the Department of Public Works has been successful in creating sustainable special projects with potential to create jobs and stimulate local economic development. Community Production Centres are a point in case. These community-owned commercial enterprises, mostly agricultural in orientation, could even produce for the export markets. Working in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, to date 14 centres, at varying stages of finalisation, have been brought on stream through an investment of R50 million.
Some of the following milestones attained on our road to successful implementation of the EPWP include the:
* Finalisation of negotiations with the United Kingdom Department for International Aid (DFID) to fund the implementation of various aspects of the programme e.g. R16,5 million for implementation of Gundo Lashu in Limpopo
* Commitment from the Department of Labour to provide skills development
* Funding of 500 learnerships by CETA over the next five years for emerging contractors to learn labour-intensive construction methods in a programme similar to Sakhasonke, which was recently launched in Limpopo.
* Completion of a monitoring and evaluation system for EPWP by the Human Science Research Council
As we forge ahead we are mindful of the need to:
* Continue our collaboration with the construction industry to increase its capacity to drive the infrastructure element of Expanded Public Works Programme
* Explore the use of labour-intensive methods to create more than 25 jobs per any million rand invested (currently industry standard is approximately 17 jobs per million rand)
* Sustain public sector new-found capacity to entirely expend capital works budgets as demonstrated by this department and many others in the past two financial years
* Increase investment in research and development in order to promote the competitiveness of the industry
DISPOSAL OF REDUNDANT STATE'S FIXED PROPERTIES
As part of our fixed asset management function, the department will over the next three years dispose a total of 41 redundant properties which collectively are in excess of 1 215 hectare in extent, at market value. These properties are predominantly situated in Western Cape (18) and Gauteng (15). However properties have also been identified for disposal in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and North West provinces.
Development of these properties will enhance opportunities for further job creation.
Issued by: Ministry of Public Works
12 September 2003
Source: Ministry of Public Works
Title: Sigcau: Parliamentary Media Briefing, September 2003
STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS, STELLA SIGCAU AT THE GCIS PARLIAMENTARY MEDIA BRIEFING, 12 September 2003
The Deputy Minister of Public Works, Reverend Musa Zondi
The Director-General, Mr James Maseko
Senior Managers of the Department
GCIS staff
Ladies and Gentlemen of the media
INTRODUCTION
Today's briefing will focus on three core areas of our mandate mainly construction industry development, the Expanded Public Works Programme and property disposal (as part of our fixed asset management function).
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT
Here we shall highlight some of the interventions we have initiated in our bid to create an enabling environment for the continued growth and transformation of the construction industry.
The recent Growth and Development Summit reaffirmed the critical role of the industry, as a national asset, to lead major infrastructure requirements posed by government development programmes, including the Expanded Public Works Programme.
Empowerment Credit System
This department has launched targeted procurement as a means of giving preference to previously disadvantaged individuals and companies. Since its inception a lot of achievements have been made in providing opportunities to historically disadvantaged enterprises. This, however, was not without challenges. These good intentions of the department have, in some cases, been abused through practices such as fronting, which are costly to government.
During an evaluation of our procurement practices to ensure alignment with the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act and the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Framework, the Department has developed a system to address broader empowerment objectives and the problem of fronting, among others.
The department is currently developing an empowerment credit system, which is strongly based on the BEE Framework and the empowerment scorecard. This system will monitor actual performance of contractors and consultants on contracts. Credits will be given to contractors and consultants based on actual performance rather than on the promises that were traditionally made when tendering. These credits can then be redeemed on award of contract and future performance can earn the contractor more credits. Contributions that will be recognised for purposes of this system will include BEE, empowerment of women, youth and disabled, community development, social responsibility programmes, learnerships and bursaries.
Construction Summit
Preparations for the Construction Summit are underway. The aim of the Construction Summit is to develop a common vision between government, labour and industry as it pertains to the construction industry. The broad theme of government's position for the summit is "The creation of a better built environment for accelerated socio-economic development and improved service delivery".
The construction chamber of Nedlac facilitates the process, which will culminate in a construction sector summit early next year. The Department of Public Works is coordinating government's position.
The department has invited other government departments' involved in infrastructure development to participate in an inter-departmental infrastructure policy committee (IIPC) to develop a consolidated policy position paper for government. The departments invited to participate in the workgroup include Transport, Provincial and Local Government, Housing, Water Affairs and National Treasury.
Critical issues that government is considering for presentation at Nedlac include transformation of the industry and BEE, development of capacity in the built environment professions, capacity in the supply side, development of artisan and technical skills in the construction industry, the use of labour-intensive approaches in construction as well as capacity of government to manage delivery.
As a build up to the Summit, the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Works held its own provincial summit on 8 to 9 September 2003. The Western Cape Public Works Department recently held a summit for women in construction as well. The rest of the provincial Departments of Public Works are expected to follow suit. Other public sector stakeholders will be consulted in the process and the various infrastructure departments will consult their provincial counterparts.
Development partnership with the Department of Defence
The Department of Public Works is currently exploring linkages and possible co-operation with the Ministry of Defence to join forces in combating poverty and developing a resource pool to address the developmental imperatives in South Africa. This may even culminate into a New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) initiative in future. The Department of Defence has a pool of built environment professionals and equipment, which can be utilised for infrastructure development purposes.
The Construction Registration Service
As envisaged in the Construction Industry Development Board (CIBD) Act, the Register of Projects and the Register of Contractors are being developed to promote improved demand and supply side performance. In essence the web-based Construction Registration Service currently under development constitutes a licensing vehicle to drive the principal objectives of industry development - improved performance, delivery, sustainable growth and transformation.
In co-operation with national and provincial departments of public works, and with the Ethekweni Metro, the CIDB, is currently piloting the comprehensive Construction Registration Service that will both shape and reflect progress in the capability and transformation of the South African construction industry.
I am pleased to announce that this service will be ready for rollout nationally from April 2004 and we are confident of the potential of this instrument to drive and measure BEE outcomes in the construction sector.
Public Sector Delivery Capacity
Efficient and effective public sector spending is fundamental to infrastructure delivery, job creation and sustainable enterprise development. In the context of government commitment to infrastructure and increasing budget allocations, all spheres of government and state-owned enterprises are challenged to increase the pace and efficiency of construction delivery.
We have therefore responded vigorously to the call made by the President in his State of the Nation Address to further improve the infrastructure delivery capability of the public sector. Commending the provinces for "significantly improved efficiency in the area of capital investment" he noted that not all the allocated funds would be spent and challenged us to address this shortcoming.
With the active support of national and provincial government, the CIDB has made significant progress on the development of the Infrastructure Delivery Management Toolkit (which incorporates work processes and guidelines). The toolkit forms the basis for a concerted capacity building programme and provides a practical guide for the entire delivery management and procurement cycle, from needs assessment to handover and maintenance of construction facilities.
The Construction Industry Stakeholder Forum
Last year's inaugural meeting of the Construction Industry Stakeholder Forum (June) confirmed significant constraints to growth, delivery and the performance levels needed to meet our domestic demand. The meeting endorsed the fundamental strategy for growth and reform. It endorsed the need for our delivery system and our industry to transform. It also highlighted the poor image of the industry and its failure to attract the cream of school leavers.
The decline in quantity and quality of built environment professionals is a subject of serious concern. The average age of built environment professionals is approximately 50 years and is increasing annually and we are thus unable to attract new skill into the industry. In order to address this, I have requested my department to engage both the public and private sectors to develop a strategy and implementation plan to deal with this issue, as it is critical to the development of the industry.
The Forum meeting of 80 stakeholder representatives further committed us all into taking action for positive change.
I am hopeful that this year's stakeholder forum meeting which will take place on 4 November under the banner of "a growing and better construction industry for all!" will take us a step further in realising our goals.
HIV and AIDS
We see HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention and treatment as part of the corporate social responsibility of construction companies and clients of the construction industry. I invite the construction companies to come up with concrete plans for the management of the disease, which include treatment of infected and affected employees.
EXPANDED PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAMME
Notwithstanding government successes in turning around the economy for the best, unemployment remains a key challenge afflicting our country, hence the announcement by President Thabo Mbeki to launch Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) as one of many initiatives by government to reduce levels of poverty.
The objectives of the EPWP are:
* To address investment in social and economic infrastructure
* To create large-scale job opportunities
* To develop human resources through skilling and training
As the Ministry responsible for the coordination of EPWP across government clusters, we are targeting the creation of over 1 million jobs in the next five years.
Summary of our projected work opportunities
Infrastructure Sector
* Labour-intensive provincial and municipal infrastructure - 500 000
* Other infrastructure programmes - 150 000
Environmental Sector
Working for Water - 125 000
Waste management - 20 000
Land Care - 20 000
Social Sector
To be announced
Economic Sector
To be announced
A total of 1 million plus targeted work opportunities are projected
This number of jobs includes the projected 500 000 jobs applicable to infrastructure programmes of EPWP.
This will range across capital projects, maintenance, ports and rail infrastructure, electrification, provincial and municipal infrastructure including a total of 37416 kilometres of provincial and municipal roads.
Provincial roads in kilometres
Limpopo: 1597
Mpumalanga: 1752
Gauteng: 2676
Free State: 1678
North West Province: 2936
Northern Cape: 979
Western Cape: 2915
Eastern Cape: 4640
KwaZulu-Natal: 7645
Total: 26 819
Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme - roads in kilometres
Limpopo: 629
Mpumalanga: 605
Gauteng: 1557
Free State: 647
North West Province: 484
Northern Cape: 9
Western Cape: 222
Eastern Cape: 3677
KwaZulu-Natal: 2768
Total :10 597
Total roads in kilometres
Limpopo: 2226
Mpumalanga: 2357
Gauteng: 4233
Free State: 2325
North West Province: 3420
Northern Cape: 988
Western Cape: 3137
Eastern Cape: 8317
KwaZulu-Natal: 10 413
Total: 37 416
We are encouraged by successful provincial programmes including Gundo Lashu in Limpopo, Zivuseni in Gauteng, Zibambele in KwaZulu-Natal and other labour-intensive initiatives in the Western Cape and these examples will be emulated when we rollout the programme at the national scale.
At a national level, the Department of Public Works has been successful in creating sustainable special projects with potential to create jobs and stimulate local economic development. Community Production Centres are a point in case. These community-owned commercial enterprises, mostly agricultural in orientation, could even produce for the export markets. Working in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, to date 14 centres, at varying stages of finalisation, have been brought on stream through an investment of R50 million.
Some of the following milestones attained on our road to successful implementation of the EPWP include the:
* Finalisation of negotiations with the United Kingdom Department for International Aid (DFID) to fund the implementation of various aspects of the programme e.g. R16,5 million for implementation of Gundo Lashu in Limpopo
* Commitment from the Department of Labour to provide skills development
* Funding of 500 learnerships by CETA over the next five years for emerging contractors to learn labour-intensive construction methods in a programme similar to Sakhasonke, which was recently launched in Limpopo.
* Completion of a monitoring and evaluation system for EPWP by the Human Science Research Council
As we forge ahead we are mindful of the need to:
* Continue our collaboration with the construction industry to increase its capacity to drive the infrastructure element of Expanded Public Works Programme
* Explore the use of labour-intensive methods to create more than 25 jobs per any million rand invested (currently industry standard is approximately 17 jobs per million rand)
* Sustain public sector new-found capacity to entirely expend capital works budgets as demonstrated by this department and many others in the past two financial years
* Increase investment in research and development in order to promote the competitiveness of the industry
DISPOSAL OF REDUNDANT STATE'S FIXED PROPERTIES
As part of our fixed asset management function, the department will over the next three years dispose a total of 41 redundant properties which collectively are in excess of 1 215 hectare in extent, at market value. These properties are predominantly situated in Western Cape (18) and Gauteng (15). However properties have also been identified for disposal in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and North West provinces.
Development of these properties will enhance opportunities for further job creation.
Issued by: Ministry of Public Works
12 September 2003
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