President of the SA Council for the Project and Construction Management Professions, Mr Eric Manchidi;
Former President of the Council, Prof Nkado;
Registrar of the Council, Ms Nomvula Rakolote, and other Council Members;
Presidents and Registrars of all Built Environment Councils;
CEO of Council for the Built Environment, Ms Gugu Mazibuko,
Professors and Students from various universities;
Organised Labour and Organisd Business in the sector;
Distinguished guests and delegates to this Conference;
Let me start by profusely apologising for having not been able to join you on the first day of this conference, due to other commitments.
I am happy to join you today so that I can share with you our ten-pillar programme and strategy for radical Transformation, Modernisation and Re-industrialisation of Gauteng (TMR) in order to make the NDP a reality over the next fifteen years. This has far-reaching implications for the construction and project management professions.
Our ten-pillar programme is a direct response to the call for radical social and economic transformation made by President Jacob Zuma during his inaugural address (24 May 2014), when he said, I quote:
“Today marks the beginning of the second phase of our transition from apartheid to a national democratic society. This second phase will involve the implementation of radical socio-economic transformation policies and programmes over the next five years. We have already placed before the nation, the National Development Plan, our road map which outlines the type of society we envisage by the year 2030. Through this programme, we will move South Africa forward to prosperity and success.”
We in Gauteng have adopted the following ten pillars:
- Radical transformation of the economy, society, space and the state;
- Modernisation of the economy, the public service, human settlements and urban development and infrastructure; and
- Re-industrialisation of Gauteng in order to take a lead in Africa’s new industrial revolution.
Programme Director
We have taken steps to strengthen coordination and integration in line with the long held vision of building Gauteng into a seamlessly integrated, socially cohesive, economically and environmentally sustainable City Region, underpinned by smart, green and innovation driven industrial base and balanced intra-regional development.
The need to strengthen Gauteng City Region (GCR) institutions and Gauteng wide planning and implementation is critical for both provincial and local government. In Gauteng, both provincial and local government have come to the conclusion that it is only when we plan and act together that we can realised our GCR vision.
One of the important peculiarities of our province is that by a fact of history we have been and still are the leading economic hub of the country, contributing at least 35% of the GDP and 11% to Africa’s GDP.
Our provincial economy is worth R1 trillion. Over the next 15 years, we want to grow GP to a R2 trillion economy through a massive infrastructure development that will see Gauteng becoming a construction site. We shall be building new cities, new human settlements and new economic nodes. Together with SOEs, Municipalities and national government, we shall be rolling out huge public transport infrastructure as part of re-industrialising the province.
To deliver on our infrastructure plan, we need to produce a critical mass of professionals and capable contractors, particularly black ones. Gauteng has the largest number of qualified black professionals and black contractors. We want to grow this number exponentially over the next 15 years. We need your partnership. The project and construction management sector is still too white and male dominated. The business environment is still too white and male dominated. We also need more young people in the professions and businesses.
This places us with greater responsibility for contributing to the national goals of overcoming poverty, unemployment and significantly reducing inequality by 2030 – the triple challenge.
Massive economic and social infrastructure programme is the key driver of many game-changing interventions we will be making in the next 15 years to improve the lives of our people, put people to work and growth the economy in an inclusive and sustainable way.
This is of course a programme that will involve the key stakeholders, including the private sector, in every step of the way. Already Gauteng is becoming a major construction site. Just here in Midrand, we see major private sector investments, and more are being planned around regions of the province.
But to what extent do they contribute to our GCR vision for an integrated City region? Where is the black business participation in these projects? Are are community benefits derived from these investments?
These are questions we are posing we engage various private players in the sector. We are saying as Government we will need to effectively use the levers of the state to ensure that we influence the patterns of these developments in the province.
As part of responses to these questions, we are now taking steps to establish Gauteng Infrastructure Coordination Commission (GICC) along the lines of PICC. It is a structure that brings all the key decision-makers together in one room - the Premier, MECs, and the mayors of the metros.
It will involve integrating a number of bold and game-changing projects within the GCR space ranging from roads, energy, water, ICT to modern public transport, schools and health facilities and creation of industrial and business parks for township economy revitalisation.
Our infrastructure programme must integrate developmental objectives we have set out in our TMR to ensure we have a balanced development in Gauteng that we contribute to increased black participation in the economy; re-industrialise and contribute to greening of the economy and so on.
We will soon announce our Provincial Infrastructure Master Plan worked out through the GICC which will complement the National Infrastructure Plan.
We know this kind of intervention will require a lot of work to get projects going on the ground and that we unlock blockages wherever they are found.
Let me say this, we will want to work with you so that we draw from your expertise for matters like project management, cost management and skills development.
Gauteng government will soon be launching Tshepo 500,000 which aims to upgrading the skills for unemployed young people, including unemployed graduates and involve them in entrepreneurial activities and work opportunities amongst others.
We invite the construction sector professionals to come to the fore to discuss ways in which you can contribute to this massive effort.
When we speak of the success of infrastructure projects it is about the professionals like yourselves that we are celebrating and it is from you that we in government will like to draw positive lessons to improve in delivery.
One of the most frustrating concern by professionals in the infrastructure space (and indeed in our sectors), is the delays in payment. We in Gauteng Government are beginning to get this right and we are set to significantly improve the days it takes for one to get paid for a service or project delivered.
We need to ensure that skills development through infrastructure projects, including concerns about health and safety are part of the project management programmes. This is part of turning every working space, including infrastructure space, a training space.
I wish to comment on infrastructure funding and cost of infrastructure. Our infrastructure projects will involve greater funding than what the state purse can provide and Provincial government, working with municipalities, we are looking a innovative ways securing further funding in the private sector, including capital markets.
The cost of infrastructure, as bitter experience shows, is also corruption in the construction of the scale we have seen through price-fixing involving large private sector companies. In precisely because these are few large corporate concerns, with few new entrants struggling, the cost issue will not be adequately resolved. Thus we support efforts to break monopoly domination throughout the value chain, including the construction sector.
If infrastructure development will define the heart of our work in the next 15 years, clearly we must prioritise breakdown the monopoly domination as part of improve cost-effective measures.
Programme Director,
In conclusion, we have just passed 150 days since we took office.
I look forward to your feedback from this Conference and we encourage you to step up your engagements with us through your Council and Minister Thulas Nxesi.
There are a number of challenges in this sector, but as there also immense opportunities. You are the most important partner for our infrastructure programme.
Together move Gauteng City Region Forward. With these words.
I thank you!
