MEDIA RELEASE
Friday, 15 October 1999
At the Western Cape Gala Dinner of SABTACO, the Department of Public Works clarified some perspectives of government on the Public/Private Partnership (PPP) approach to infrastructure delivery in South Africa.
A PPP, like any other partnership, is a common endeavour to create an outcome that benefits all parties - in particular to promote a win-win outcome for the established and emerging sectors, for the workforce, for professionals, for public and private sector clients and for ordinary South Africans as the ultimate beneficiaries.
The public fiscus alone falls short in addressing the immense challenges of infrastructure delivery, necessitating a range of public/private partnerships critical to both delivery and maintenance. Where PPPs have been estimated to mobilise R5 for every R1 of public funding, the existing opportunities and innovation required had to be mobilised as well.
The Department of Public Works has demonstrated that employee training and empowerment, as well as equity and affirmative policy can be effectively built into Public/Private Partnerships, in particularly so through the Asset Procurement and Operating Partnership System (APOPS) whereby private sector capital is geared towards the procurement and operation of public infrastructure facilities. Through APOPS, the emphasis is placed on output specifications, setting out what should be delivered as a service, the level of service, scope and performance. The Department has recently signed the first two Project Development Agreements for the development and operation of two maximum security correctional facilities.
Against the background of massive backlogs (R170 billion on infrastructure and R10 billion for state accommodation maintenance) the benefits in engaging in PPPs include:
Cabinet approved a national interdepartmental task team headed by the Department of Finance to develop a policy framework for Public/Private Partnering in the country. This task team will be reporting shortly to Cabinet on the policy framework and the necessary institutions to carry the process forward.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS, Pretoria 14 OCTOBER 1999
ENQUIRIES: Spencer Hodgson, Chief Director: Construction Industry Development Programme, DPW, tel: 012-3372346
MEDIA LIAISON: Mariette Ebersohn, tel: 082 573 3262