2006/07 presented by MEC Christian Martin
23 March 2006
Honourable Madam Speaker;
Honourable Premier;
Colleagues in the Executive Council;
Honourable Members of the House;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen; and
Fellow South Africans
Our province is entering an Age of Hope. An Age of Hope we longed for and
fought for. Now it is ours to explore and develop. Development should be the
focus of our thoughts and efforts at this time in order to optimise the
opportunities that await us. The aspect of development is particularly relevant
for the Provincial Department of Public Works, because together with our
National counterpart, as well as our various Local Authorities, we are
responsible for infrastructural development in the province and the consequent
job creation that accompanies it.
Madam Speaker, we are proud to say the growth rate within the Eastern Cape
has exceeded those of some provinces. We are correctly positioned and have the
necessary policy framework in place to meet the challenges of sustainable
development. The provincial government is on course and has for the past 12
years laid a solid foundation, one that is conducive to accelerated growth and
improved service delivery.
Madam speaker, the delivery of infrastructure and accommodation for
Provincial Departments constitutes the key mandate of the Department of Public
Works in the province. The provision of infrastructure is a critical path in
reaching the targets as set in the Provincial Growth and Development Plan
(PGDP). The Infrastructure Implementation Plan will lead to the massification
of job creation and alleviation of poverty among the people of the Eastern Cape
province, who in the recent local government elections, gave a fresh mandate to
this government.
In his State of the Nation Address on 3 February 2006, the President said: I
quote âThe public sector will also accelerate infrastructure investment in the
underdeveloped urban and rural areas of our country through the Municipal
Infrastructure Grant (MIG), Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and other
infrastructure funds to improve service delivery in the areas of the Second
Economy.â
An amount of R372 billion will be provided over the next three years to
improve and accelerate infrastructure delivery. I am confident that the
Department of Public Works in this province has repositioned itself to take up
the challenge of its mandate and will rise to the occasion.
Review of achievements
Madam Speaker, please allow me to share a number of achievements of the
department with this house
1. Appointment of a Department Head
When I was appointed to the Department, I was challenged with a high number of
critical vacancies, including that of Department Head. I am pleased to announce
that the Head of the Department has been appointed. This has stabilised the
administration of the Department and has paved the way for further population
of the organogram where necessary.
2. Risk Management
The prevention of fraud and corruption is a Departmental priority and to this
end we have embarked on the following initiatives. In line with the Provincial
Anti-Corruption Strategy, the Department has developed and implemented a Risk
Management strategy and policy and is now finalising the appointment of
critical posts within the Risk Management Unit. The Internal Audit committee is
fully functional.
As MEC for Public Works, there is a profound appreciation and understanding
of the concerns and challenges facing the department in terms of clean
corporate governance. This knowledge has prompted the decision to embark on and
foster partnerships with entities both private and public to ensure that the
scourge of fraud and corruption are not only curbed at the point of occurrence,
but also detected at any early stage so that it can be prevented. Fraud,
corruption and any other irregular activity that is not provided for in the
departmental business processes and delegations, derogates from the principles
of transparency and accountability enshrined in the Constitution and comprises
the effective execution of the Departmentâs core functions. In this regard,
2006 will see a more focused approached in addressing the three central
elements of the department in combating fraud and corruption, that is,
personnel, policy implementation and procurement issues.
All too often an enabling environment, which is inter-related to the three
issues above, presents itself as a medium through which improper and irregular
activities is facilitated. It is crucial to the mandate of the department that
its officials evidence integrity. In this regard the department has embarked on
a constructive engagement with National Intelligence Agency (NIA), whereby the
National Intelligence Agency (NIA), will assist with the vetting of officials
and verification of credentials, thereby assisting in both the employment of
suitable candidates as well as ensuring the integrity of incumbents.
With regard to policy implementation the National Intelligence Agency (NIA)
will be engaged in a manner that will assist departmental officials to identify
and rectify current loopholes within policies that facilitate unscrupulous
conduct. Procurement remains an area that requires the exercise of vigilance.
NIA presents an opportunity whereby due diligence checks on aspirant service
providers will be conducted as to detect amongst other irregularities, the
occurrence of fronting or cover quoting by both aspirant service providers and
existing service providers.
The very nature of NIA engagement must be viewed as an attempt to eradicate
irregular activity within the department at all levels. I want to invite people
to report any corrupt activities by phoning the following number: 040 609 4435
or the Anti-Corruption Hot Line Number 0800 701.
Organisational structure
The organisational structure has been processed through the relevant cluster
committee and the Premier. It complies with the Provincial Growth and
Developmental Plan (PGDP) and it gears the Department to more effective
infrastructure co-ordination and it complies with providing minimum
anti-corruption capacity.
Rental and debtor management
A realistic tariff register has been developed that is linked to the Fixed
Asset Register and forms an accurate basis for revenue targets and collection.
The Debtor Management system is fully operational. The Department has developed
and approved a standard lease agreement for rentals, which provides it with
adequate legal recourse in instances of mal and non-performance by tenants. A
High court application has been made to evict tenants who have failed to make
the necessary arrangements for settling the arrear rentals. In terms of our
revenue collection strategy, we have increased the rental tariffs and improved
on the management of the inter-departmental agency function on rental
collection.
Asset management
The Provincial Department of Public Works is the custodian of all provincial
properties (including land) in the Eastern Cape and as such must exercise due
care in the managing of our vast property portfolio. The Department has
developed a computerised Fixed Asset Register and Facilities Management
Information System that complies with Treasury regulations as recommended by
the Interim Management Team (IMT). The Asset Register remains a work in
progress as it requires constant upgrading and updating. We have captured and
conditionally assessed 1 173 properties provincially and have further developed
a comprehensive maintenance plan on the basis of those properties. Maintenance,
which remains one of the core functions of the Department, will be phased in
over a multi-year programme that is linked to budget availability and
priorities. A milestone in the history of the Department was the adoption of a
disposal policy and procedure manual for the province. The Department has
identified and vested 182 properties thereby removing a major stumbling block
in way of disposal. The implementation of the departmentâs disposal strategy is
a phased approach that will be closely monitored and evaluated in order to
achieve our provincial targets in terms of revenue collection.
Corporate services
The corporate challenge for the department remains to attract sufficient
skilled technical staff. We have developed a scarce skills policy and a bursary
scheme and 80 students are currently benefiting from the scheme. The identified
scarce skills are:
a. Architecture
b. Quantity Surveying
c. Engineering
d. Information Systems/Technology
Six of these students who have qualified, have joined the Department this
year. As part of the Departmentâs scarce skill attraction and retention plan,
we have entered into negotiations with qualified individuals who have taken
early retirement packages in an attempt to improve the skills base of the
department.
As part of our on-going skills capacitating plan the department is
participating in the ASGISA development programme targeting women and youth. A
senior female candidate has been identified for partaking in the six-month
development programme in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Department is also
in discussion with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to recruit
professionals in the Built Environment to assist the Department in service
delivery. We have also partnered with the South African Black Technical &
Allied Careers Organisation (SABTACO), an association of Black Professionals,
to develop best practice models.
The remnants of the roads function, including its budget, have successfully
been transferred to the Department of Transport. This leaves the Department
with the responsibility of focussing on the co-ordination of The Expanded
Public Works Programme (EPWP) within the Department of Roads and Transport.
Buildings
As previously stated, the provision of accommodation for Provincial
Government Departments is central to the mandate of the Provincial Department
of Public Works. The mandate extends to the implementation of capital
development programmes for all departments. We are also responsible for
renovations, day-to-day maintenance and preventative maintenance of all
buildings that belong to the Eastern Cape Provincial Government. Our Department
and Provincial Treasury is currently finalising an infrastructure plan that
will influence the budget cycle over the next three years. The space
optimisation plan is a medium term solution for the adequate provision of
office accommodation in our capital Bhisho. Planning for an office precinct is
already in an advanced stage and suitable government land has been identified
for this purpose. This project cannot be done in isolation of the broader aims
and objectives of the revitalisation of the Bhisho Corridor. We will have to
source partnerships with the relevant stakeholders of these development
initiatives.
Effective cooperation with the client departments is key to the execution of
our mandate. The lack of roll out of infrastructure is attributed to
ineffective forward planning. A critical success factor to infrastructure
delivery is the location of capital expenditure budgets with the client
departments. Progressive inter-departmental discussions have lead to the
finalisation of service delivery agreements, formalising and regulating
relations between our client departments and the mandate of Public Works.
District development is ahead of its schedule. A further R19 million
injection from Provincial Treasury will assist the department in providing
appropriate accommodation for client departments in the various districts.
The department has also terminated open-ended contracts with consultants
that have been structured in 1996. Their terms of reference has never been
evaluated and monitored. I wish to thank the Portfolio Committee on Public
Works for itâs vigilance with regard to this matter.
Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP)
In the State of the Province Address, the Premier alluded to poverty
alleviation and job creation. The Infrastructure Implementation Plan forms the
foundation of poverty alleviation and job creation through the Expanded Public
Works Programme (EPWP). The EPWP methodology necessitates labour intensive
methods, training of workers and broad based skills development. The
concretisation of the EPWP in the province will provide opportunities for an
interface between the two economies, which is crucial in realising a single,
but multifaceted, thriving economy.
The department has formed a partnership with South African Local Government
Association (SALGA) in order to:
* collaborate with all tiers of government
* planning and implementation of EPWP priorities especially focussing on
Municipal Infrastructure Grants (MIG)
* align the disposal of immovable assets to the Integrated Development Plans
(IDP) of municipalities.
The department has capacitated the EPWP Unit with the appointment of
critical staff. We have initiated and implemented 305 learnerships within the
province. I need to state that these 305 learnerships have been registered as
closed corporations and will result in the formation of 305 new small, medium
and micro-enterprise (SMME) in the province. Further, we have negotiated 45 new
venture learnerships. These learnerships have been derived from the assessment
of the Supply Chain Management Process targeting affirmative procurement.
Thirty of these learnerships are in retail (I.e. supply of toilet paper,
cleaning materials, and stationary) and fifteen of them in pest control.
The Sector Business Plans has been approved and the budgets for EPWP are as
follows:-
* Social Sector â R96 million
* Roads â R48 million
* Public Works â R19 million
These budgets will secure approximately 1 711 jobs within the new financial
year. These sector budgets as well as infrastructure investment will have a
vast impact on rural economies of the province
Budget allocation
Madam Speaker, this Department has been allocated a total overall budget of
R514 272 million for this financial year. Our budget for the financial year
2005/06 was R572 535 million. This represents a decrease of R13 263 million in
our current budget. This is because some roads related projects, which were
part of the Community Based Public Works Programme, were moved to the
Department of Roads and Transport. The 2006/07 budget will be spent as follows
during the forthcoming financial year:
* Administration â R133 448 million
* Public Works Programme â R359 421 million
* The Community Based Public Works Programme â R21 403 million
The way forward
Madam Speaker, our strategic Plan for the following five years as tabled
before this House, lists our Departmental goals and objectives. I would now
like to highlight a number of these goals for the year ahead:
* the establishment of Prestige Service Unit to respond effectively to the
needs of the Provincial Legislature
* the implementation of a maintenance plan utilising our in-house maintenance
teams as well as emerging contractors
* the massification of EPWP through the development of new venture learnerships
in pest control, air-conditioning, retail and project management
* effective management and implementation of infrastructure Delivery Plan with
the assistance of professional technical assistance provided by National
Treasury
* the finalisation and adoption of a service delivery model for the Department
incorporating Batho Pele principles and Balasela
* the disposal of redundant government properties, in terms of the Disposal
Policy, aligned with the Property Charter, Black Economic Empowerment and the
PGDP
* the approval of a medium term Space Optimisation Plan that will address the
accommodation needs for our client departments
* the roll-out of the capacitation of the emerging contractor sector through
the Contractor Industry Development Programme (CIDP).
In conclusion, Madame Speaker, Members of the House, I want to extend a
sincere, heartfelt word of appreciation to the management and staff of the
Department of Public Works. Thanks to the Premier, my colleagues in the
Executive Council and the Portfolio Committee on Public Works for their
support. With the appointment of a woman as Head of Department in the
Department of Public Works we are on course in contributing to our Age of
Hope.
I thank you
Issued by: Department of Roads and Public Works, Eastern Cape Provincial
Government
23 March 2006
