Policy and Budget Speech 2014/15 delivered by the MEC responsible for Roads and Public Works the Honourable Thandiswa Marawu

Honourable Madam Speaker;
Honourable Premier of the Eastern Cape Government;
Esteemed Colleagues in the Executive Council;
Honourable Members of the House;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen;
Fellow South Africans

1. Introduction

Let me join colleagues and comrades in appreciating the opportunity afforded by South Africans to the African National Congress to once again lead this entire nation in moving forward. In the same breath, let me welcome in humility the honour bestowed upon me by the Honourable Premier, and the leadership of the ANC to be once again in charge of this very important department.

Honourable Madam Speaker, the month of June is a very significant month in the history of our country. Fifty nine (59) years ago, the toiling masses of our country gathered in Kliptown to define and design a blueprint of how they would like to govern and be governed in the land of their birth: the Freedom Charter. The march towards the realisation of that dream was given impetus 38 years ago, when the youth of our country braved the apartheid’s brutal and ruthless forces to once again reignite the struggle for freedom and democracy.

Madam Speaker, as we celebrated this important month, the people’s movement has just received a new resounding mandate to move South Africa forward. In presenting our programme in line with the renewed mandate, we make the following assertion: ‘For more than a century, the ANC has led our people in their aspiration for a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society, as the strategic goal of the National Democratic Revolution. That vision, inscribed in the Freedom Charter, inspired the sacrifices that brought freedom and democracy. That vision became the soul of our constitutional democracy after April 1994. It has been the guiding light of our programme to reconstruct and develop our country after centuries of colonialism and apartheid.

Over the last 20 years, the first phase of our democratic transition, our people’s dignity has been restored. Non-racial majority rule based on one-person, one-vote has brought about government based on the will of the people. Today, South Africa is a better place in which to live. The lives of millions have improved. Yet the challenges still facing our country are immense. Poverty, inequality and unemployment still affect the lives of many people. Corruption continues to erode our social fabric and undermine our development efforts.

Our economy continues to feel the effects of the global economic slowdown, making our goals all the harder to reach. The ANC is committed to working with our people to address these challenges and move South Africa further forward towards the achievement of the vision of the Freedom Charter’. (ANC Election Manifesto 2014, Page 4).

Unlike some who would have everyone believe that 1994 was a South African miracle, we know that our freedom was never an accident of history but a result of the struggle, an inevitable product of the tireless work of the heroes and heroines, ordinary masses of our country, Africa and the World.

Our characterisation of the 1994 victory as a democratic breakthrough was informed by inter alia, our deeper understanding that while freedom and democracy negates apartheid colonialism and class exploitation, we would have to carry forward the elements of the old order and rework them into the development of a new united, democratic, non-sexist, and non-racial South Africa free of all forms of exploitations.

Honourable Madam Speaker, as we present our policy and budget speech for the financial year 2014/15 we are humbled by and proud of the extent of progress made by our province and indeed our country at large in the last twenty years in breaking the forces that have perpetuated poverty, inequality and underdevelopment thereby changing the lives of the people for the better.

2. 2013/14 achievements

Honourable Madam Speaker and honourable members, we are humbled and privileged to be part of this nation’s work that impacts the lives positively. In the last financial year we made a number of undertakings in discharging this huge responsibility relating to our mandate. Honourable members will recall that this policy speech is meant to wrap up the term, and as such, some of the project pronouncements we are making are already being implemented as the financial year has already started.

We also make a note that some of the projects are multi-year and would continue beyond the new financial year and by implication, well into the new term of office.

2.1. Roads infrastructure

Roads infrastructure always gets high priority owing to the critical role roads play in impacting the socio economic progress of our people. The huge backlogs still remain a major challenge despite the progress we are making. This state of affairs is further compounded by constant floods that are wreaking havoc in the Province year after year, with devastating effects on our roads network.

The situation is unlikely to improve in the near future, for the simple reason that it is further exacerbated by the shrinking of the fiscus allocated to the department. The situation has resulted in the department resorting to focusing primarily on the maintenance of the existing roads network, with very little hope of constructing new roads in the short-term. This has been reflected in our Annual Performance Plans targets over the last couple of years, including the current financial year where the targets for construction are zeros (0).

Here are some of the achievements under this programme for 2013/14

• The target for the number of lane-km of surface roads to be resealed was 80 000 lane-km, with the actual progress of 136 340.56 lane-km, an over achievement of 56 340.56 lane-km.
• Again, the maintenance programme managed to re-gravel 1 192km of gravel roads, out of the target of 586km, an over achievement of 606km. The havoc caused by rains and floods necessitated that a huge number of potholes be repaired to make the roads in the province trafficable. The department has an indicator that was targeting 66 438 m² of blacktop-patching including pothole repairs, 127 441 m² was achieved, representing an over achievement of 61 003m².
• The department also paid attention to the blading of the gravel roads in the Province. A target of 36 301 km of gravel roads was set to be bladed during the year under review. However, 33 526 km of that set target was actually achieved, which amounts to an underachievement of 2775km.
• The department also purchased 20 new items necessary for roads construction and maintenance. This serves to ensure that plant is always readily available whenever there is road works that need to be executed.
• Some of the regravelling projects completed include the DR08017 from Cedarville to Mount Frere; DR 08313 to Canzibe Hospital, Ngqeleni to Mthatha, DR0802 & DR 08149 to Magwa Tea Plantation.
• A detailed update on the work we have done in the roads infrastructure delivery is attached as Annexure A.
• The Eastern Cape Government has a long-standing relationship with South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL), as such; a total of 2011km of road was transferred to SANRAL for construction and maintenance. SANRAL has spent R 204 million as of the end of March 2014 on the maintenance of these roads. All the roads that were taken over are under active routine road maintenance contracts. These roads include R56 - Middleburg to Eastern Cape Border near Matatiele a total of 469 km; R58 - from Eastern Cape Border near Venterstad to Elliot a total of 335km and R72 from N10 Nanaga to East London Airport, a total 230km to mention but a few.

2.2. Buildings infrastructure

Madam Speaker in respect of buildings infrastructure and as part of its overall mandate, the department continues to provide space to provincial government departments, maintain existing buildings and project-managing the creation of new social amenities on behalf of the Departments of Education, Health and other departments.

• With regards to the maintenance of Government Buildings, the department managed to complete 48 projects within time and budget.
• As far as Education projects are concerned, the department completed 29 projects ranging from fencing projects to repairs and renovations, civil, plumbing and drainage to office constructions.
• From these Education projects contracts to the value of R57.15million were awarded to the Historically Disadvantaged Individuals (HDI’s), whilst contracts to the value of R11.19million were allocated to Women Owned Enterprises (WOE).
• For Health related projects, contracts to the value of R133.3million were awarded to HDI’s, which amounts to 44% against the intended target of 25%, an overachievement of almost R56.3million or 20%. With regards to Women Owned Enterprises, contracts to the value of R23.4million, which constitute 7.8% of the total value of contracts were awarded against the 1% target. This is an overachievement of R20.4million or 6.8%
• The Others Portfolio, wherein the department’s focus is on other departments other than Education and Health, the Department allocated contracts to the value of R179.9million to HDI’s, an amount that has far exceeded the 60% target of R120 million by R59.9million. The value of contracts awarded to WOE also far exceeded the projected targets. The department awarded contracts to the value of R100 million, which is R98 million more than the R2 million of the initially targeted.
• Some of these major projects completed include; The Huis Beyers Naude offices in Graaff Reinet to the value of R63 million which was completed in March 2014 and was handed over to communities by his Excellency, the Hon. President Zuma on 10 April 2014. The branding of Dukumbana Building in Bhisho to the value of R31 million is complete and final handover is scheduled for June 2014. The Mt Frere Social Cluster Offices to the value of R38 million are scheduled for completion in July 2014. The renovation of the former CPA library to the value of R68 million in Aliwal North commenced in January 2012 and is expected to be completed in September 2014.

In the current financial year the department is continuing to implement major projects that started in the previous year and they include the following: District Roads Engineer offices in Grahamstown to the value of R23 million, Lady Frere New Government Offices to the value of R47 million and Conversion of Cala Convent phase 2 to the value of R9 million, Butterworth Training Centre to the value of R32 million, Bensonville College office conversion to the value of R31.5 million, Ex Mary Theresa conversion of Nurses home into offices to the value of R38 million, Botha Sigcau open plan and entrance upgrade to the value of R36 million.

• As far as Property Management is concerned the department, under very trying circumstances, continues to provide office space to its client departments. The Small Town Revitalisation Programme that was adopted by the Executive Council because of its remarkable accomplishments thus far continues to pay dividends, with many small rural towns receiving a major boost in terms of job creation and beautification. Bhisho is one of those towns which is allocated R460 000 for Greening, Beautification and landscaping this financial year. The Bhisho Office Precinct has entered its final stages of approval by the Executive Council. This will entail conducting due-diligence and further investigation in order to evaluate the cost effectiveness, value for money and affordability of the funding proposal, and then structure optimal funding solution for the project.
• The Small Towns Revitalisation Programme is a benefit to the Province, especially the rural towns who do not have a viable revenue base from which to generate funds for their infrastructure and other needs.
• In Nyandeni, I and the Mayor agreed on a joint office precinct with a total of 6 500 square meters in Libode that will accommodate four provincial departments currently in Umtata. The project is still undergoing procurement processes within the municipality following which the department will take the process forward.
• The department has made strides in the disposal of superfluous immovable assets within the province. In the year under review 8041 properties were transferred to the Department Human Settlements for the upgrade of tenure of the current occupants of the RDP houses, across the province. A further number of land and properties were handed over to various municipalities in the province. This include land in Marselle and Nkwenkwezi Townships (Ndlambe Municipality); Erven 2042, 2043 and Portion 58 of Farm 8, Kuyga to Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality for housing development; ERF 2129 at Ezibeleni extension 1 to Lukhanji Local Municipality for 100 land parcels and ERF 276,277, 915 and Amathola Hotel in Alice handover to University of Fort Hare for accommodation to mention but a few.
• For the 2014/15 financial year the department has embarked on a process of reviewing the departmental Disposal Policy. The review of the Policy amongst other things seeks to prioritise disposals of immovable assets to households occupied by the indigent persons, child headed households etc. Most of these older persons are women who worked as civil servants but due to apartheid laws prohibited them to be employed permanently and thus could not partake in the government pension scheme.
• Non-strategic immovable assets will also be identified for possible disposal through leasing and outright disposals at market related prices to bolster revenue creation for the province.
• In its endeavour to meet its predetermined targets, the department managed to update the asset register with value added information and thus enhance the quality and utility value of the asset register. The target of 6 500 was exceeded by achieving 7 517, which is 1 017 more than the initial target. The department also managed to provide facilities management services to 179 properties against the target of 50, which means that 129 more properties were serviced than the planned number. Furthermore, condition assessments were conducted on 145 stated-owned buildings, 65 properties more than the original target of 80.

2.3. Expanded public works programme

Honourable Madam Speaker, I will now talk about the Community Based Public Works Programme (commonly known as EPWP). This is a programme that continues to resonate with the needs of the poorest of the poor in our Province. Honourable Madam Speaker and Members, the 2013/4 financial year marked the end of Phase 2 of the Expanded Public Works Programme and as we close this phase we have the following good story to tell:

• Firstly, we promised that 149 867 work opportunities will be created by Public Bodies implementing the EPWP in the Province. Members, it gives me great pleasure to report back to this House that by the end of the last financial year, the Province created 176 148 work opportunities, 26 281 more jobs than planned. This achievement bears testimony to the department’s effective coordination efforts through which provincial government departments and municipalitie were galvanised to mainstream the Expanded Public Works Programme as our government’s primary policy instrument to stem the tide of poverty and unemployment in our communities.
• Secondly Honourable Speaker, the department’s contribution to poverty alleviation is through our flagship Household Contractor Programme in which 40 000 people in our province, particularly women, are currently employed.
• Thirdly, we undertook to recruit and train 650 learners into our artisan development programme known as Accelarated Professionals and Trade Competency Development (APTCoD). By the end of the financial year, we enrolled and trained 652 learners into the artisan development programme, and this bodes well with the country’s effort and indeed our province’s commitment to build the skills levels of our people particularly those of our young people. Honourable Speaker, against the target of 40 artisan trainees passing their trade test in the last financial year, we managed to double that target by ensuring that 80 learners on this programme passed the trade test to become fully fledged artisans.
• Fourthly Honourable Speaker, our National Youth Service (NYS) programme continues to give hope to many of our young people who would have ordinarily fallen through the cracks of our country’s formal training interventions. During the last financial year 500 young people received accredited training in the built environment and roads related disciplines under our NYS programme.

2.4. Corporate services

Over the past financial years, the department targeted to fill the Senior Management positions through the normal recruitment processes, but due to the limited budget on Compensation of Employees, the recruitment process at this level was slower. However, in 2013/14 financial year, the department was able to reprioritise funds for the filling of critical senior management positions. Out of the 9 positions that were advertised, we targeted at least 60% of such posts to be filled by women.

I am happy to announce that we exceeded that target because we employed seven females out of the nine senior management positions advertised. The Employment Equity Status in 2013/14 has therefore showed a significant shift from 83%:17% male/ female representation in the first quarter to 68%:32% in the last quarter. As I speak, Honourable Speaker, the department is sitting at 39% of women and 61% male representation at senior management level.

Over the past five years, the Department of Roads and Public Works awarded 155 bursaries to previously disadvantaged students to study in all the institution across the country, with the aim of supporting the strategy and objectives of the department and also addressing the country’s skills shortage. The department is utilising the bursary scheme to support students who are pursuing their studies relevant to the core business of the department and the focus is on scarce and critical skills. The bursaries were awarded in the fields of Electrical Engineering, Architecture, Environmental Management; Property Management, Civil engineering, Mechanical engineering, Construction; Building and Quantity Surveying, with a total expenditure of R18 718 000.00. Out of the 155,73 bursary-holders are females and 82 are males. Currently, the department has employed 71 graduates that completed their studies through this bursary scheme, 30 females and 41 males. I would like to also mention that the department is continuing to manage this scheme and assist the needy students.

3. Commitments for the 2014/15 financial year:

Honourable Madam Speaker and Members, as we begin the new term of this political administration, we also enter Phase 3 of the Expanded Public Works Programme. Through Phase 3 of the EPWP we shall intensify our poverty reduction and employment creation efforts by focussing not only on numbers but on the quality of our interventions and also on our youth. In the 2014/15 financial year, the department will implement the following programmes:

• 43 300 work opportunities will be created by the Department of Roads and Public Works.
• 5 000 unemployed people will be matched to job opportunities through Amathuba Jobs Portal.
• 10 Household Contractor livelihoods projects will be supported through the Hlumisa Co-operatives Development Fund.
• 200 emerging contractors will be supported and upgraded to higher levels in the CIDB register.
• 700 learners will be trained as artisans in our Accelerated Professional and Trade Competency Development Programme (APTCoD)
• Additional 500 young people will be enrolled into our National Youth Service (NYS) Programme.
• 60 emerging contractors will be engaged throughout the Province to monitor Household Contractors.

This will go a long way in ensuring that Household Contractors are properly supervised and consequently adding value to the road asset that is being maintained.

• Furthermore, the programme has concluded an Integrated Contractor Development Strategy which seeks to ensure that all efforts towards the development of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME) contractors are joined up and coordinated, thereby increasing contracting capacity within the Province.
• And lastly Honourable Speaker, Roads Forums which the department uses as platforms for consulting our stakeholders and communities will be implemented in all the 45 municipalities of our province.

Honourable Madam Speaker, while the department has made significant strides in employing the poorest of the poor in our province to undertake minor road maintenance through our Household Contractor Programme, we are nonetheless concerned about the inadequate monitoring of these workers. We believe that there should be value added to the road asset that is being maintained, and we can achieve this by ensuring that there is tight supervision so that we do not see Household Contractors lying idle when they are supposed to perform productive work. To this end, the department will roll-out the deployment of 60 Grade 1 Contractors to supervise Household Contractors.

In addition to supervisory work, Grade 1 Contractors will ensure that Household Contractors get the necessary tools and inputs such as gravel in order to ensure that rural roads are
maintained to acceptable standards.

Phase 3 of the Expanded Public Works Programme calls upon all of us to use the EPWP to contribute to development by ensuring that our people participate in, and own the processes of their development. As the department charged with the coordination of the EPWP, we will continue to support interventions that seek to empower our communities to conquer the scourge of poverty and unemployment.

Honourable Madam Speaker and Members, the Department of Roads and Public Works is determined to continue in its quest to achieve its set objectives during the 2014/15 financial year, using all the financial, human and material resources at its disposal, to ensure that the lives of the people in the Province are improved enormously. Among the key milestones, the department is determined to deliver the following in 2014/15 financial year:

• Under Public Works Infrastructure, the department plans to complete 16 construction projects within the agreed time period – 8 Education projects, 5 Health projects and 3 projects belonging to other departments.
• Also under Public Works Infrastructure Maintenance the Department plans to complete refurbishment of 48 planned maintenance projects within time and within budget.
• The department is progressing well with the Bhisho Revitalisation Projects:
  • An amount of R22.7 million is set aside to complete the Bhisho Memorial Site/ Contact Centre currently about 70 % complete;
  • Phase 2 of the Ceremonial Boulevard/Road to replace existing paving and curves with new ones and narrowing all roads in the CBD area to force cars to utilise all existing parking areas in Bhisho is underway;
  • R3.9 million is committed in the 2014/15 financial year for the construction of a Phalo House Parking area Provincial Treasury
• Lastly, also under Public Works Infrastructure the department plans to add 10 000 assets to the immovable asset register, conduct facilities management services on 60 properties and conduct conditions assessments on 90 state-owned buildings.
• Roads Infrastructure plans to upgrade 25,5 km of gravel road to surfaced road, reseal 60 000 m2 of surfaced roads, re-gravel 600km of gravel roads and do 60 000m2 blacktop patching including pothole repairs.
• As indicated in the table attached as Annexure A, the following provides a summary of the projects currently under construction that will contribute toward the committed targets: T125 from N2 to Siphetu Hospital Phase 1; Wild Coast Meander – Tombo to Mpamba (Isilimela Hospital) Phase 1 construction started during March 2014; Madwaleni Hospital Road is also under costruction by our in-house team, to complete the 5km of the 18km stretch road by October 2014, Coffee Bay to Zithulele and Centani to Qolorha/Kei Mouth . Cofimvaba to Lady Frere; Lady Frere to Mkhapuis/ Macubeni upgrade and construction. A 19 km road to Sabalele Village is under design with construction starting by November 2014.
• The department has also reprioritised its projects and redirected an investment of R250 million to address the issue of bad gravel roads across the province. The funds will be used to implement 41 projects through Independent Development Trust (IDT) between April and Nov 2014.
• All the roads that were taken over to South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) are under active routine road maintenance contracts, and maintenance allocation of R 96 million has been provided for the 2014/15 financial year.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to announce that a strategic intergovernmental project involving the National Department of Transport, my department and all six district municipalities is close to fruition.

This project is setting up an integrated Road Asset Management System (RAMS) covering all 78 770km of provincial and local municipal roads in the province.

This RAMS will assist every Local Municipal Areas (LMA) to identify, prioritise and plan municipal roads maintenance and upgrading projects within their municipality as well as assist each LMA to comply with Government Immovable Asset Management Act (GIAMA) requirements. Equally the integrated RAMS will assist my department to plan our provincial maintenance and upgrading projects in a wholistic manner by incorporating traffic flows on provincial and municipal roads.

Through this RAMS project 30 previously unemployed civil engineering graduates have also been employed and are being trained and given hands-on experience in various technical fields related to roads planning, design, maintenance and construction.

At the conclusion of the project these civil engineering technicians and technologists will be deployed to assist district and local municipalities as part of this government’s commitment to building capacity at a local municipal level.

Linked to this RAMS project, my department will this year finalise the road classification process for all municipal roads and institute a public participation process on the classification and mapping of all provincial and municipal roads.

Corporate Governance and Support

Madam Speaker to succeed in all our efforts we will have to strengthen our support service sections.

In this regard, we will in this financial year ensure that the following initiatives are on track:

• We have already started with strengthening our procurement system through restructuring of the procurement committees and the related delegations. This is supported by training of personnel serving in the same committees. In fact we have recently put through all our senior management through a formalised training on procurement. This we believe will assist us in fast tracking implementation of, among other things, infrastructure projects and addressing other Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) objectives.
• The department continues to have a challenge in the area of Human Resources capacity ,in terms of both shortage of warm bodies and skills in critical areas. This predicament has a debilitating effect on a number of areas including compromising the control environment. We are however addressing this situation through a multi-pronged approach. Firstly, we are proceeding with the processes to have our organogram approved. Secondly, we are filling the vacant posts in the existing structure through the vigorous implementation of the Annual Recruitment Plan. Thirdly, where appropriate and necessary, we are bolstering our capacity through the use of relevant service providers. Fourthly, we continue to make an assessment of the contract workers already engaged by the department with the view to hold on to the appropriate and much needed skills and capacity.
• As we continue to support the department, Human Resource will put more emphasis on appropriate HR strategy, policy development and implementation, systems descriptions and process flows, in order to improve the HR effectiveness in support of the line functions.
• To turn things around in respect of the improvement of the control environment, we have refocused the audit intervention plan in order to address critical areas which include ensuring availability of source documents, completeness and adequacy of documentation in project files, a firm grip and tracking of commitments, accurate classification of expenditure and revenue, proper disclosure and financial reporting, improvement in system descriptions, as well as proper management of the audit process.

We believe all of these efforts will bear the desired results with dedication and commitment from all and sundry.

At this stage honourable Speaker we wish to present to the house our budget allocation for the 2014/2015 financial year.

4. Conclusion

We believe Honourable Madam Speaker that indeed after twenty solid years South Africa is no longer the same and will never be the same again. Even though we have complex and dynamic challenges we certainly are going to overcome. With unity, dedication and hard work we will succeed.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank the management and officials of the department for their hard work to achieve what we have achieved as a department and as a province. I also wish to thank my colleagues in the Executive Council and members of the committee for their support and advices.

It is through their outstanding stewardship and guidance that the department is a better performing department today.

I thank you all.