Thank you hon House Chairperson, the NFP welcomes the report tabled here today. Allow me to express my concern at the performance of the Department of Public Works. We have said before as the NFP that this department, for many years appears to be in the intensive care unit and it doesn't seem to be getting out. I think the question that needs to be asked is: Do we really need a Department of Public Works?
If you take the SAPS and the difficulty they have with the Department of Public Works, maybe they should be able to manage and maintain their own buildings and the same should apply basically to all the other departments because the Department of Public Works cannot even keep an asset register, they cannot maintain buildings, the infrastructure is collapsing and I think it is a little too much particularly for the department or maybe they need to make some changes in the near future.
We note with concern vacant buildings that were constructed but not in use. Added to this is the fact that the department on the one hand has buildings that have been built that are not being used while on the other hand, the department is going out and leasing properties from others at very high rentals. I think it is another matter that we need to look at.
The NFP notes with concern the failure of the regional offices in both my colleagues here in Cape Town and Pretoria not paying invoices within 30 days. I think it is a matter that we ...
The Telkom Towers building which has not being used for years by the SAPS for the last six years ... now this matter has come up time and time again and yet nothing or very little has been done about it. I think we have said that the SAPS has a building in Port Elizabeth, particularly the communication centre where they were going to be put up and were delayed as a result of Public Works not ensuring that they have entered into a contract on the site timeously so that this thing could be laid to rest.
There are serious challenges with the dolomite site which we are talking about in Thaba Tshwane. The NFP welcomes the recommendations as set out in this report. However, what we have found is that despite all the oversight visits and identifying the challenges and the weaknesses and come back and report, it is exactly the same thing next year. There really is no consequence management whatsoever.
... yes, I think you are correct that these people that are failing us year in, year out shouldn't be keeping their jobs and getting
paid, they should be fired. [Interjections.] We should be employing people since we have a high unemployment rate in South Africa. We have capacity.
Anyway, the NFP will support this report on condition that there is consequence management for those that have failed to comply ... Thank you very much.