Public Works, Roads and Transport, for 2007/08 financial year
26 March 2007
Honourable Speaker and Deputy Speaker
Honourable Premier, Me Beatrice Marshoff
Colleagues in the Executive Council and the Legislature
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, honourable Nketu
Mayors and councillors
Head of the Department and officials
Distinguished stakeholders
Fellow comrades and friends
Honoured guests and people of Free State Province
Introduction
Honourable Speaker
We are in the middle of the third term of the democratic government. This
milestone presents a momentous opportunity for us to asses the progress we are
making in our historic mission of building a better life for all.
Our experience over the past 13 years of democracy has reaffirmed our long
held conviction that a better life for all is not only necessary and desirable,
it is possible. We have laid a solid foundation for a better life for all, real
beginnings have been achieved. And there is no going back!
With a thousand daily challenges and complexities, it is easy to lose sight
of this. It is easy to forget where we are coming from. It is even possible in
the rush of events to forget our objectives. The exercise of claiming our
achievements over the past 13 years not only help to inspire hope but also
assist us to measure and appreciate the challenges that still lie ahead.
The occasion of tabling this budget vote therefore represents yet another
opportunity to asses the progress we are making and most importantly spell out
our programme of action over the next financial year. This budget vote is one
of our greatest instruments for the pursuance of our revolutionary goal of a
better life for all. It will articulate yet another set of concrete steps to be
taken in contributing to the realisation of our 2014 vision of halving poverty
and unemployment by the year 2014.
Our driving theme that we will articulate in this budget vote is,
"Accelerated Infrastructure Development for Building a Better Life for
All".
Infrastructure development remains one of the main interventionist pillars
of the democratic government to drive for a shared economic growth. It will
help meet the basic needs of our people and improve the efficiency of our
economy. The 2010 Soccer World Cup will be optimally exploited in the
infrastructure development opportunities it presents.
Overview on progress
Speaker, let's pause and make some reflection on the work of our Department
in the recent past. The winning of the Makwane Road Project in Qwaqwa as a best
Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) project, in the whole country in the
national 2007 Kamoso Excellence Recognition Awards this past February, speaks
volumes about our performance and sterling work in the EPWP. Our dedicated
implementation of EPWP saw a total of 58 contractors benefiting from contractor
development opportunities.
This past financial year, we drastically improved our turn-around time for
the delivery of the most needed capital projects. This we must state despite
the improvements that are still necessary. By early December 2006 we had
already exhausted our infrastructure budget and began overspending. In our
quest for accelerated infrastructure delivery we built very important social
infrastructure facilities in many communities in the Free State. These include
schools, clinics, hospitals, antiretroviral (ARV) sites and community
halls.
Roads infrastructure development has progressively gained prominence in our
infrastructure drive by the nature of its centrality in the economy and
particularly in transport movement. We have and continue to construct important
access and connecting roads, particularly in the most rural of the parts of the
province.
The successful launch of the Taxi Recapitalisation Project (TRP), in
Botshabelo in October of last year, was a truly watershed event in the
transport sector and history. The profound words of Minister Radebe at that
event are worth restating at this stage, "Many years of serious work and
dedication to the taxi recap programme are now paying off and have culminated
to fruition." It is also appropriate to add that the taxi recap is now in
motion! The honour of hosting the national launch of the taxi recap meant that
we must sustain the momentum generated by the launch itself in the actual
implementation of the TRP.
Our work on broad based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) also assumed an
upward progressive trend. Our procurement from BBBEE companies has
substantially increased in the over the past period.
We have done some considerable strides in reinforcing the capacity of the
Department to deliver on its all important mandate of infrastructure delivery
and transport system provisioning. In strengthening the capacity of the
Department we have filled all critical post and this was the largest
recruitment drive we have done in recent times.
We have stepped up measures to protect our government buildings by deploying
more security personnel. The new uniform for our security personnel has gone a
long way in enhancing the security image in government buildings.
2007/08 budget
Honourable Speaker, the total baseline of our appropriation budget for the
2007/08 fiscal year is R1,589 billion. This represents 54% increase from the
last financial year. It is also a financial expression and concrete
articulation of our government's policy position of a bolder assertion of the
need for a strong, strategic and economic interventionist state. Infrastructure
development has tended to be central in this regard. In achieving this, the
Free State Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (FSPGDP) remains our
guiding policy framework.
Efficiency improvements
We move from a basic understanding that a strong organisation is key to our
success as an infrastructure Department in discharging our mandate. Our
capacity has been enhanced by the filling of all critical positions so as to be
equal to our mammoth task at hand. We have improved our payment cycle to our
suppliers and contractors and further improvements will be effected during this
financial year and beyond. The establishment of a policy and research unit will
go a long way in enhancing our research and policy capacity for improved
service delivery.
Training and capacity building programmes are going to be vigorously
strengthened to enhance our internal capacity and in this regard, among others,
various learnerships and training courses will be implemented.
The exchange programme we have entered with the province of Saxony in
Germany will further enhance and sharpen our engineering skills and capacity in
the built environment. Mr Speaker, eight of our youth who have relevant
qualifications in engineering and built environment will be leaving for Germany
next month. This programme is a product of our co-operation with the German
government that was recently concluded.
In line with the intention we have previously declared in this House of
introducing measures for attracting and retaining scarce professional skills in
the Department, we will enhance our in house training capacity which will
enable our technical and professionals to register with recognised professional
bodies. This we will do whilst simultaneously exposing our aspirant
professionals to mentorship and coaching programmes. This programme will
include further professional development for existing registered professionals
and 330 bursaries holders are pursuing studies in various scarce technical
fields.
We will engage tertiary institutions in the province on the appropriate
interventions of accelerating the acquisition of scarce skills in the
engineering fields.
Accelerated infrastructure delivery
Department of Public Works
Honourable Speaker, Department of Public Works remains our key strategic
function particularly in the context of our mandate deriving from the policy
trajectory of infrastructure development for a shared economic growth, as
articulated in the FSPGDS. We have over the past period improved our capacity
for accelerated infrastructure delivery. Apart from improved expenditure
patterns, this has been shown in such improvements as the time for completion
of capital projects.
The in juncture of the State of the Nation address (SONA) 2006 also direct
us that, "Better supervision of infrastructure projects undertaken by
government will be introduced, to ensure that capital budgets are spent without
roll-overs and that labour intensive methods are prioritised and the necessary
training of workers is carried out to provide them with skills."
It is pleasing, Mr Speaker, that as a Department we have already aligned our
planning and implementation processes to give efficacy to the President's
clarion call. In this regard I want to thank the honourable Premier and the
members of the Executive Council for their deep understanding, total commitment
and unwavering support given for accelerated infrastructure delivery.
Over the coming period we are going to further strengthen our delivery
capacity. Our main preoccupation will focus to accelerating the delivery of
integrated infrastructure for economic and social development. In surging with
this mandate we will ensure that there is quality expenditure of all allocated
budgets and always strive for maximum impact inline with our economic and
social goals of reducing poverty and unemployment.
Under expenditure, roll-overs, sporadic operations and minimal impact are
increasingly becoming an established fact as nothing more than our painful
past!
We will increase our efforts with regard to direct investments and these
should include delivering infrastructure in a manner that steers:
* labour enhanced construction methods (job creation)
* small contractor development
* skills training (particularly in construction, management, financial,
literacy)
* local economic development.
One of the fundamental challenges remains the entry and growth of the small
contractors. Among problems that pose themselves as impediments include lack of
mentorship and support by financial institutions. The escalation of prices as a
result of shortage of supplies has also negatively affected small contractors
who are in most instances cash trapped. This is over and above the already
existing problems of lack of access to material supplies by small
contractors.
Mr Speaker we continue to face challenges in the built environment which
manifest themselves in the following forms:
* window dressing
* benefit diversion
* opportunistic intermediaries.
The recently approved contractor development policy by the provincial
Executive Council will be instructive in introducing a number of interventions
for developing small and emerging contractors. This policy intends, as
envisaged in the BBBEE, to redress the intentional and systemic exclusion of
the historically disadvantaged people from participating in the economic
mainstream.
The policy seeks to create a constructive platform for the effective
transformation of the building and roads infrastructure sector of the
construction industry by first creating an enabling environment, looking at
supply side interventions (availability of procurement opportunities) and also
ensuring that there is technical, management and facilitate financial support
for the contracting entities within the development programme.
The success of the policy will be measured by its ability to create an
enabling environment for the development of a pool of contractors that is
highly skilled and able to compete with the best both in the development
environment and also in the open market for the infrastructure development
opportunities.
This policy will target the black people, youth, women and people with
disabilities. The targeting strategies will include:
* set aside for Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) lower
grades
* prime contracting, sub contracting for intermediate grades
* joint ventures.
We have made arrangements to make CIDB centres more accessible in the
province particularly in the urban and remote areas such as Maluti a Phofung
and in all Thusong Service Centres. Together with the CIDB we will address the
glaring challenges regarding grading and registration of contractors.
Honourable Speaker, our major public works capital projects for this new
financial year will include:
* the construction of the first phase of the provincial government building
amounting to R20 million,
* upgrading provincial roads district offices in Bethlehem which cost R30
million,
* we will also embark on serious upgrade of the Bethlehem and Harrismith
Testing Stations to the amount of R30 million.
Property
Mr Speaker, as we have stated in this House last year that we place the
property transformation high on our agenda and that we will transform the
property industry, yet challenges on this front still persist. We still spend
about 89% of our rented property portfolio from historically advantaged. In our
effort to integrate the historically disadvantaged into the economic main
stream, we have finalised immovable asset disposal policy that will ensure that
we enhance accountability on the use of the immovable asset while we empower
historically disadvantaged individuals through asset disposal. This policy will
further reinforce the socio economic and political mandate of the provincial
government to ensure that there is a noticeable change in the ownership
patterns of the immovable assets.
It is pleasing to note that the process of developing a credible
comprehensive asset register is almost complete. This we were able to achieve
through optimal utilisation of partnership with the Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR) and will enhance our property management
capacity.
The security of our property is vitally important to our improved service
delivery. We will continue to introduce advance measures in the physical and
electronic security we perform to immovable state properties. Our security
personnel will receive intensive training on pertinent areas of security
administration.
Roads
Speaker, roads infrastructure development has progressively gained
prominence in our infrastructure drive precisely because of its centrality in
the economy and particularly in transport movement. It is very critical to our
infrastructure hence it continues to have a greater share of our departmental
budget, it constitutes 58% of our budget and has received nearly 100% increase
from the previous financial year which translates to R932 million.
Roads, is one area where we performed outstandingly well, we completed most
of our projects at shorter execution periods and even started executing new
projects. We performed well despite the challenges of capacity and resources.
This is a trend, we are going to strengthen and improve, moving forward.
Mr Speaker, the following projects have been completed and/or nearing
completion:
* access road between the N1 and Eeufees Street
* Makwane access road
* Vaalpark interchange at Sasol
* the repair of the bridge over the Orange River at Zastron
* the access road to Seloshesa
* the access road between Trompsburg and Jaggersfontein
* the rehabilitation of the paved road between Welkom and Bothaville.
The resounding success of the implementation of the Makwane access road
project speaks volumes about the potential that exist for maximising the impact
of roads with regard to EPWP. We will, therefore, use most of our roads to
upscale the impact of EPWP. We will use roads to help build the provincial
economy and at the same time reduce the huge roads backlog that we continue to
encounter as a province.
It is for this reason that whilst we will be surging ahead with the
execution of some road projects that we have started already, we will implement
the following projects:
* the rehabilitation of the road between Reitz and Petrus Steyn
* the replacing of the existing bridge at Wepener with a new bridge which will
always be accessible does not matter the magnitude of future floods
* the upgrading of the road between the N1 and Parys
* the upgrading of the road between the N1 and Sasol
* the access road to Koppies Dam
* two access roads joining the Vredefort Dome
* the upgrading of the road between Verkykerskop and Harrismith
* the road between Springfontein and Bethulie.
Signage on our roads poses some challenges for our road users to this end we
have set aside resources to attend to this pressing challenge. Some of our road
signs are non-compliant. Road signs are key and proper for road safety.
Transport systems and infrastructure
Honourable Speaker, the Premier in the State of the Province address (SOPA)
made bold assertions on transport infrastructure interventions that we are
going to embark upon which amongst others include:
* the development of the N8 corridor
* Harrismith Logistical Hub
* the revitalisation of rail network and services between Thaba Nchu,
Botshabelo and Bloemfontein
* intermodal transport facility in Mangaung
These will be our main anchor transport projects as we accelerate transport
infrastructure and services in our province. In collaboration with the national
Department of Transport, municipalities and other State bodies planning and
implementation have already began.
The drafting of a transport master plan is unfolding and this will be a blue
print that will outline our long-term integrated transport plans in the
province which will inform all our public transport services and
infrastructure.
The Department is finalising the Free State freight data bank .This data
bank will assist the province to identify major freight movement and overload
management. It will also assist the Department to develop and implement
corridor systems that integrate South Africa with the region and the continent.
We will develop the provincial freight transport framework which is a tool for
planning, operations and implementation of all freight related initiatives
within the province.
Inclusive of this mentioned processes will be a feasibility study to be
conducted in Thabo Mofutsanyana District, which is our nodal point. This study
will seek to pursue the promoting and improving of access and mobility in rural
areas so as to link them with industrial areas in conformity with the
Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme (ISRDP). Once this study is
completed, a strategy will be developed to ensure communities access the
markets and social services with ease.
The Department together with the national Department of Transport undertook
the Harrismith Logistic Hub initial scoping study which has been completed.
Given the current situation with regard to location, infrastructure, services,
markets and economic of transport by different modes. The potential of large
scale logistic opportunities that have been identified are road to road
transfer depots and road to rail. The Department will continue to engage key
strategic stakeholders to make this project a reality.
Having registered such impressive success in the early stages of the Taxi
Recapitalisation Project (TRP) the challenge is therefore to sustain the
momentum that has already been generated. We will increase the pace of our
scrapping so that by the end of December 2007 we would have scrapped minimum of
3 000 taxi vehicles and also introduce new taxi vehicles on our roads.
Ke motlotlo kajeno, Speaker, ho tsebisa ntlo le setjhaba hore le rona hare
itheke morwalo ho etsa bonnete ba hore morero ona oa phethahala. Ho fihla ha
jwale ka hare ho profinsi rena le bo-Rathepa ba 2 230 ba ikemiseditseng ho nka
karolo ho ntjhafatsa ditekesi tsa bona.
Ke rata ho nka sebaka sena ho etsa kgoeletso ho bo âRathepa ba sokang ba
lata le ho nka di tokomane tsa bona eleng di operating licenses ho etsa jwalo
hanghang. Re fane ka nako e lekaneng ho bo-rathepa kaofela, ba o bohle basa
arabeleng kgoeletso ena batla iphumana ba le kamosing mme re tla qobelleha ho
nka mehato ya semmuso.
Retla tsoella pele ho etsa bo nnete ba hore hona le kgutso le kutloano
mekgatlong ya ditekesi. Mme manane koetliso a ditekesi atla tsoella pele ho
etsa bonnete ba ho matlafatsa kgoebo ya bo ratekesi.
Motsamaisi wa dipuisano, retla thusa ba kganni bohle ba ditekesi ka manane
koetliso haholoholo bao banang le mangolo a ho kganna a code 8 ho fetolela ho
code 10 ntle le tefo ya letho. Morero ona o ama feela ka ho qolleha ba angwang
ke lenane la taxi recapitalisation. Ba kganni bana batla fuwa se baka sa pele
hohle di testing stations tsa rona hore ba fetolele mangolo a bona nntle le
tshitiso.
Ho bohlokwa Speaker, ho tsebisa ntlo hore morero wa ntjhafatso ya interstate
bus lines oo ka ona re phetahatsang BBBEEE o motjheng, se pabolang morero ona
mme se etsa hore otswe tjaro ya mabonwa ke dintja ke hore o kenyeletsa bo
ra-ditekesi le dibese tse nyane, kontrakeng eo mmuso o e tshehetsang ka
ditjhelete (subsidy) ho etsa bonnete ba hore setjhaba se fumana tshebeletso e
tswileng matsoho.
Ka ho tshwana Speaker, lefapha le tjhatsi ho etsa bonnete ba hore Maluti Bus
Service e phetahatsa seo ke se hlaloseditseng ntlo ngwahola le
ngwahola-kola.
The commencement of construction of the intermodal facility that integrates
bus, taxi and rail services in Mangaung, in this 2007/08 financial year will
represent earnest preparation for the 2010 Soccer World Cup transport legacy
and we will strengthen our co-ordination and partnership with Mangaung
Municipality the host city.
Whilst we note that in past financial year we did not achieve the desired
results in introducing improvements in the delivery of services at our testing
stations. We recommit never to give up on this important task. The new
technologies we are introducing and the training that our traffic officers have
and continue to undergo will go a long way in improving service delivery
improvements in this regard.
In dealing corruption and long waiting times a blow, the Department will
introduce the electronic learners and driver's licenses in our testing stations
in the new financial year. The law enforcement strategy to be introduced in the
new financial year that will entail cameras and collection of revenue will
further enhance our corruption and crime fighting endeavours.
Government garage
Speaker, the fleet management constitutes an integral part in the management
of the State assets and operates as a trading entity.
The primary objective of the entity is to provide and support client
departments with vehicles and heavy plant. This entity has become a beacon of
other provinces as they continuously learn from us to model their government
garage operations after our own.
In order to cope with these new demands, we have initiated two programs:
* the rightsising of the fleet and alignment of fleet to the requirements of
the users,
* the renewal of the fleet and the replacement of old, obsolete and irreparable
vehicles and equipment in order to enhance service delivery.
The Department will be involved in assisting municipalities with fleet
management expertise as part of our contribution to Project Consolidate.
We will deliberately utilise some of our disposable fleet to contribute to
the contractor development strategy, with a dedicated bias to benefit small and
emerging contractors.
The procurement of services with regard to maintenance and repairs of
vehicles will also be aligned towards increasing the procurement from
previously disadvantaged people. In order to achieve this, the Department will
work with the Department of Tourism, Economic and Environmental Affairs in
identifying projects that can be funded in the fleet management
environment.
Job creation and poverty eradication: EPWP
Honourable Speaker, the achievements we have made in the province with
regard to EPWP should enable us to be on a much stronger footing with regard to
scaling up the EPWP. This scaling-up exercise is essentially about maximising
job opportunities must create. It also covers maximising training and
contractor development opportunities.
Infrastructure sector projects as well as those of the social sector will be
given more prominence. This, therefore, implies the need for tighter and more
improved co-ordinating mechanism on our part. The themes of anti poverty and a
better life for all enjoin us to increase the tempo and impact of EPWP. The
implementation of the EPWP programme in all four sectors is in deed non
negotiable.
In order to sustain the momentum generated by the winning of Makwane access
road as the best EPWP project in the country, we will implement the following
projects along the same model of Makwane access road:
* Monontsha Border Post access road
* access road to Swartwater Dam-S1502
* access road to the Dome as Phase 2
* access to Koppies Dam
* access road to Thaba Phatsoa
National Youth Service (NYS) programme
The implementation of the NYS through public works and roads projects in
construction and maintenance will serve to address the plight of our youth. The
needs of our youth are urgent and immense as former President Mandela, once
quipped.
The NYS is a concept that is transformative in nature that is broadly
defined as involvement of young people in activities that provides benefits to
the community whilst developing the abilities of young people through service
and learning. The NYS also seek to impart the spirit of service and patriotism
in our youth.
In this regard we have already elaborated a business plan whose
implementation will cover 500 young men and women who will participate in the
NYS programme in areas that will enhance service delivery inclusive of road
safety, traffic management, security, support and grader operators. The
construction and maintenance of buildings and roads will form part of the
second phase.
A recruitment process has also begun and will be concluded soon. The hosting
of the national launch of the NYS in the province on the 14 April 2007 will
present both an honour and responsibility to perform to the best of our ability
on this front.
Our youth are a valued possession of the nation and our government must do
all what it can to ensure their all round engagement and development as our
catalyst to the future.
Conclusion
As I conclude, Mr Speaker, let me take this opportunity thank the Premier
for her leadership, my colleagues in the Executive Council for their unwavering
support, members of the portfolio committee for their oversight role, the Head
of the Department, Advocate Msibi and members of the senior management, my
support staff and all officials in the Department for the excellent work done.
My wife and family for the support and tolerance they have given me during my
unavailability in time of need. This support has been very crucial in placing
infrastructure development at the helm of the mandate of the provincial
government.
The observations we have made in this budget speech about the challenges we
still face in our quest to achieve the greatest yearning of our people which is
poverty eradication and job creation obliges us to summon the wise words of one
of the greatest revolutionaries, comrade Che Guevara to call upon all our
forces to action:
"So it has to be, so it should be and so it will be companeros. So it will
be because you are revolutionaries, creators of the perfect society, human
beings destined to live in a new world where everyone decrepit, everything old,
everything that represents the society whose foundations have just been
destroyed will have defiantly disappeared. To reach that goal we have to work
everyday, work in the inner sense of improving ourselves of gaining knowledge
and understanding about the world around us, of inquiring, finding out and
knowing why things are the way they are and always considering humanity's great
problems as our own."
Mr Speaker, this statement reminds us of our fundamental tasks as servants
of the people, the task to act with extreme passion and dedication when we
discharge our collective responsibility to change the lives of our people for
better without fail.
Mr Speaker, I hereby table the 2007/08 budget vote for the Department of
Public Works, Roads and Transport.
Thank you!
Issued by: Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport, Free State
Provincial Government
26 March 2007
