on the occasion of the Public Works Budget debate in the National Council of
Provinces, Cape Town
6 June 2006
Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Honourable Mr MJ
Mahlangu
Honourable Minister, Ms Thoko Didiza
Honourable Deputy Minister, Mr Ntopile Kganyago
Chairperson of the Select Committee on Public Services, Honourable Mr R
Tau
Honourable members
Honourable provincial delegates
Senior Managers from the department
Ladies and gentlemen
When we committed ourselves to denounce business as usual in the Assembly of
the provinces last year, very few believed in our ability to change public
perception about the North West Department of Public Works. Our achievements
thus far have confirmed that we take seriously our mandate to provide
sustainable public infrastructure. Today many would agree with me when I say
that, while yesterday doubt characterised our relationship with client
departments, today confidence defines our relationship.
Our resolves to denounce business as usual and practical steps we have taken
to improver service delivery have earned the confidence of our clients to
provide integrated, sustainable public infrastructure. We were awarded a silver
award for the second best performing department in the province in the 2005/06
Premierâs Public Sector Excellence Awards.
The department also received a Bronze Award from the prestigious
Professional Management Review for being nominated the second most proactive
provincial government department in the North West. Our pursuit for service
excellence was also recognised by the Board of the Council for Health Service
Accreditation of Southern Africa. After an extensive countrywide assessment of
hospital maintenance, the Board awarded our maintenance team at the
Klerksdorp/Tshepong Hospital complexes full accreditation for excellent
maintenance service for the period 2005 to 2008.
This is the second award as our maintenance team at the two hospitals was
accredited for the period 1998 to 2000. Maintenance service entails the
management and maintenance of hospital plant, machinery, buildings, and
non-medical equipment. It includes the maintenance of utility systems
(electrical, water, oxygen and ventilation) to minimise the risks of operating
failures.
We are excited at the recognition of the role of the Department of Public
Works in sustaining excellence in the maintenance of public facilities. That we
met high level of compliance with the accreditation standards encourages us
further to entrench a culture of quality service to our clients and the general
public.
Chairperson, the accolades we have received in the previous financial year
attest to our assertion that employees at all levels of the department have
embraced a new culture of service excellence .A culture that defines them as
agents of change.
Through the sale of redundant state houses, the department managed to raise
revenue of R8,544 million. We also awarded contracts to the value of R460,736
million to historically disadvantaged individuals. This constitutes 260%
increase in Black economic empowerment .We are happy because R95,149 million
worth of contracts were awarded to 34 Women contractors.
The Integrated Modimola Expanded Public Works Programme Pilot Project (EPWP)
was also awarded the gold award for the best Performing Project team in the
2005/06 Premierâs Public Sector Excellence Award. The labour intensive road
maintenance, construction of village roads and household food security project
has thus far created 491 job and training opportunities for the unemployed in
the impoverished rural community.
According to our EPWP fourth quarter report for 2005/06, our provincial
contribution towards job creation, skills development and poverty eradication
through the programme has created 14 761 job and training opportunities. This
was achieved through the roll out of 229 EPWP projects across all spheres of
government.
On 17 February of this year, Premier Molewa and I launched the R93,6 million
Modimong Expanded Public Works Programme Project in Taung. The Project is part
of the Taung Development Programme, which is part of the provincesâs Five
Special High Impact Programmes that are to contribute towards Accelerated and
Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA).
The various infrastructure projects that are to benefit the Modimong and
Cokonyane villages include:
* 6,8 kilometres road upgrading and surfacing project of the road between
Taung and Modimong
* Rehabilitation of 30 kilometers of village roads in Modimong and Cokonyane by
means of labour intensive methods in EPWP Mode
* Food security scheme to benefit 200 households in Modimong and Cokonyane
Village
* Land care project
* Brick making, stone crushing and sand digging Projects that are to be linked
to Projects to the construct community halls in Modimong and Cokonyane
villages
Under the Hospital Revitalisation Programme, we have completed the
Swartruggens Hospital and commenced with the construction of the 200-bed Moses
Kotane Hospital and the 120-bed Vryburg Hospital.
We have also completed 10 clinics for the Department of Health. Indeed,
while yesterday doubt characterised our relationship with client departments,
today confidence defines our relationship and tomorrow represents an
opportunity for us to be the giant on whose shoulders the people of the our
province could stand.
Under the school building programme, we completed seven schools and did
minor and major renovations to 54 schools. To crown all of our achievements in
the last financial year, my department received an unqualified audit report for
the second year in a row.
Chairperson, our pace of delivery gives us confidence to declare that we
want to be the giant on whose shoulders the people of our province could stand.
Our resolve for this financial year is that we are going mad.
Every employee of the department including myself is going to go mad.
Chairperson, Mad in our context stands for:
M= Make
A= a
D =Difference
To make a difference to our youth in the new age of hope, we have
established 38 learnership contractors in the last financial year and offer 60
internships to unemployed youth in this financial year.
We welcome and congratulate Minister Didiza on her appointment to the Public
Works Portfolio and support the budget.
Ke a leboga.
Issued by: Department of Public Works, North West Provincial Budget
6 June 2006
Source: North West Provincial Government (http://www.nwpg.gov.za)
