Thank you programme director
Colleagues in the executive council
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Works, Comrade Joyce Maluleke
Executive mayors and other Mayors
Members of the IDT Board
National office staff of the IDT led by the chief executive officer
Limpopo regional office staff led by Mr Bali Mamabolo
Head of Department of Public Works, Mme Morongoa Ramphele and her executive management team
Our built environment partners and client departments
South African Women In Construction
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
This evening marks yet another milestone in our pursuit of the mandate of the mandate of the Department of Public Works being to:
* facilitate and coordinate the provision of provincial government building infrastructure
* maintenance of government buildings
* provision of office accommodation for government
* coordination of the provincial implementation of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP)
In the execution of our core mandate we are guide by our:
* Vision which is to be a leader in the provision and management of provincial government land and buildings
* Mission which is the optimal utilisation of resources in the provision and management of provincial land and buildings and the coordination of the Expanded Public Works Programme values which are:
* Professionalism
* Humility
* Accessibility
* Adherence to Batho Pele principles.
As per our brief of being the driver of bulk infrastructure to the provincial government we have been quite busy in the period pre and post the tabling of our 2010/11 budget.
Among the major projects we unveiled during this period are the following:
* The official launch of the Greening Limpopo campaign which will see over a million trees planted in the province each year until 2014
* On 19 March we tabled the 2010/11 budget which will serve as a road map to guide us in the execution of our core mandate
* On 29 March we officially, with Premier Cassel Mathale, unveiled the Construction Contact Centre. Construction contact centres are facilities created by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) in partnership with Departments of Public Works at national and provincial level as hubs for industry wide initiatives on contractor development and other construction services.
In further pursuit of our core mandate we will during the course of the 2010/11 financial year embark on the following programmes:
* Give concrete expression to the relocation of the provincial legislature from Lebowakgomo to Polokwane.
* Convene a Provincial Infrastructure Summit to find innovative ways of delivering on our bulk infrastructure mandate
* We will in the near future roll out a massive infrastructure programme to ensure that our schools, clinics, hospitals and other government building are in a good state.
As the department, we are under no delusion that we can alone roll back the massive infrastructure backlogs we have to contend with. It against this background that we will go out of our way to harness all the support we can lay our hands on.
We are going to embark on smart partnerships with our built environment service providers. It is only through working together that we can do more to realise the dream of a better for all our people.
In its annual 8 January statement, the ruling African National Congress provided the people of South Africa with the line of march for 2010. The theme for the year is simple, yet so profound: "Working together to speed up effective service delivery to the people". This theme will guide the design and implementation of our programme action for 2010. Faster and effective service delivery is what should characterise our work.
Taking our people seriously, putting people first in service delivery in the real sense, should define our work in the current financial year. In our quest to deliver on our core mandate we need strong and effective partners to travel this road with us to ensure that communities benefit in government efforts to make the lives of our people better.
I therefore wish to introduce our new partner in effective and efficient service delivery, the Independent Development Trust. The IDT is no stranger to Limpopo having had been involved in various sterling infrastructure projects through the length and breadth of the province.
The IDT, having had been established in 1990, this year celebrates its 20th anniversary. At inception the IDT administered grants for poverty relief, infrastructure development and services in the education, housing and welfare sectors.
The mandate of the IDT has evolved over time to be a development agency that supports government to deliver on its mandate of poverty eradication. The IDT is now expected to implement social infrastructure programmes as we as facilitate societal involvement and empowerment.
In keeping with the expansion and renewal of the mandate of the IDT that was in 2009 appointed by the National Department of Public Works to be the implementing agency of phase two of the Expanded Public Works Programme for the non-state sector.
In terms of this brief, the IDT is expected to create approximately 640 000 work opportunities by 2014. Through this brief, the IDT will provide support and coordination of different sectors through:
* infrastructure technical support at provincial and municipal level
* technical support to the environmental and social sectors at national level
* beneficiary data capturing and verification
* support in providing monthly and quarterly reporting
* stakeholder management and communication support
* coordination and facilitation of delivery teams at local level
The Limpopo Department of Public Works and the IDT will this evening sign a memorandum of understanding through which the IDT will be the implementation agent of the department. The MOU is a product of extensive discussions at various levels to plan and operate the agreement to this end.
Senior management from both the Department of Public Works and IDT have engaged in extensive operational discussions and this was further enhanced by technical discussions to map out an operational plan. It is anticipated that this agreement whose signing we will witness here tonight, will create an efficient and economic platform to advance infrastructure as a conduit for the realisation of the wider Expanded Public Works Programme objectives and targets.
Key deliverables of the agreement will among others include the women focused contractor development programme which will assist women, youth and disabled groups to claim their stake in infrastructure delivery. The objectives which underpin the party's activities and operations as enshrined in the MOU are:
* to address the development needs of the province
* to foster cooperation between the department and IDT
* to assist the Department reclaim its excellence in bulk infrastructure delivery
* enhance the social infrastructure delivery in the province.
The terms of engagement between the department and IDT as per the MOU will be:
* The IDT shall deliver on social infrastructure and other related social development programmes in the province
* The provision of support services by the IDT to line function departments for programmes that do not form part of the Department of Public Works` mandate
* The department, shall, for the duration of this Memorandum, allocate social infrastructure and related social development programmes per financial year
* The details of the portfolio allocation to the IDT and terms thereof to be set out in programme implementation agreement to be concluded between the department and the IDT.
I wish to thank all the participants in seeing this initiative into fruition and the cooperation we have received to date. I hope that going forward we will work together to ensure that we deliver on the objectives of this agreement.
I thank you.
Source: Department of Public Works, Limpopo Provincial Government (http://www.dpw.limpopo.gov.za/)
