Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon Members of Parliament, ladies and gentlemen in the gallery, today marks yet another year that Members of Parliament debate the budget that was passed by the National Treasury to the Department of Public Works and its entities.
The department has four entities. The first one is Agrment SA, which was established by the Minister of Public Works in 1969 and is mandated to enable the introduction of innovation and minimising associated risks in the market. It is an internationally recognised centre for the assessment and certification of construction products, systems, materials, components and processes. The second one is the Independent Development Trust, IDT, which is a public entity with national presence that can benefit the most marginalised areas of our country.
The third one is the Construction Industry Development Board, CIDB, which has as its main focus the development of industry contractors, while at the same time managing delivery enhancement and improving capacity through strategic interventions and partnerships. The Council for the Built Environment, CBE, is mandated as a Schedule 3A entity in terms of the Built Environment Act, Act No 43 of 2000. As a statutory council, it was established as an overarching body for the six built environment professions and was given a mandate, which I will talk about in the next few minutes.
Before I speak to each one of the entities, I feel I need to send an overall message to all of us. We all know our democracy was achieved and attained through the loss of many lives. Many people died for this democracy. We wouldn't be where we are today, enjoying the fruits of democracy, had it not been for the people who laid down their lives for the rebirth of our country.
Many families lost their loved ones in order to achieve freedom and democracy, and the only way to say "thank you" to those brave heroes and heroines is for us to work and build this country and position it where it is supposed to be. We need to put extra effort into bridging the gap between the rich and the poor, the needy. As we all know, it was not their choice to be in the state that they are in today. South Africa is one of the countries in the world where the gap between the rich and the poor is very big.
We need to understand that the success of our democracy should and will be measured by the concrete steps this ANC-led government takes to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable and downtrodden in our society. We have made some progress towards equality and restoring human dignity. However, a lot still needs to be done to transform our country and society at large, to build a nation free of the past.
There is nothing impossible in this world. If we are really determined to make a change in this country, we will achieve it. As we all know, the difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination. To honour those who were tortured and jailed by the apartheid government and those who died for this country, we need to strive to make what they fought for a reality. Let us just think deeply about the poor, the unemployed, and those who go to bed hungry, and put them first, as our priority.
Agrment SA is internationally affiliated through membership of the World Federation of Technical Assessment Organisations, WFTAO. It is a worldwide network for co-ordinating and facilitating the technical assessment of innovation in the construction field. Some people argue that Agrment SA should fall under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR. No! No! It is only the finance of the board and the board's agency that is administered by the CSIR's built environment operating unit and is subject to the CSIR's financial systems and auditing processes, otherwise Agrment SA belongs to and enjoys being under the Department of Public Works because it deals with built environment issues.
Agrment SA has some activities planned for the coming years, which will have both local and international impact. These include, amongst others, undertaking technical certification of many new labour-intensive construction methods that include the development of criteria for using thin concrete technology in road construction; facilitating the introduction, application and the utilisation of satisfactory innovation and technology development in a manner that adds value and supports the construction industry; the assessment and certification of nonstandardised construction products; implementing key solutions for government and communities through social and public processes; participating in the CSIR initiatives to form and build strategic partnerships with the Development Bank of SA, DBSA, Sasol, Transnet and Eskom; and technically assess technology that can improve performance of dwellings in rural areas through improved traditional building methods using lightweight building construction technologies and materials.
In addition to Agrment SA's ties with the WFTAO, it also maintains close working relationships with the following stakeholders: CIDB, CBE, IDT, International Council for Building Research Studies and Development, the Independent Complaints Directorate, the three spheres of government, the SA Bureau of Standards, the SA National Roads Agency Ltd, and the National Home Builders Registration Council.
This entity does all the good work to the best of its ability, but this does not go without challenges. Agrment SA does not have an enforcement mandate. With all its expertise, it cannot make its mandate felt, like the ability to detect all instances of inferior building material that enters the country, for example inferior-quality cement and corrugated iron. This impacts negatively on the consumers, especially the poor communities, because they buy corrugated iron which is, at the end of the day, of a low standard.
Agrment SA has a quality control mechanism in place to ensure that construction products that are certified by the agency are in fact fit for the purpose. For the entity to effectively carry out its mandate in the nine provinces and to broaden its scope and mandate, the entity will require additional staff, premises and definitely more funding.
To broaden the mandate of Agrment SA, the department reported that it intends to introduce legislation in Parliament towards the end of the third quarter of the 2013-14 financial year, which aims to align Agrment SA's current management to the Public Finance Management Act, PFMA. The Public Works portfolio committee members will really appreciate that because widening the scope of work and the mandate is crucial.
The Construction Industry Development Board, CIDB, is a public Schedule 3A entity that reports to the Minister of Public Works. Its main objective is to provide leadership to stakeholders and to stimulate sustainable growth and improvement in the construction sector for effective service delivery. It seeks to enhance the construction industry's role in the country's economy. This entity has eight strategic goals, which are to provide contractor and client support through CIDB provincial offices. This assists the participation of the emerging sector in the construction industry, to provide support in enterprise development and the reform of the industry players.
SiyiKomiti yeSebe lezeMisebenzi yoLuntu sadinwa kukubona abantu basemakhaya besuka ngaphaya eMbizana, eBhayi, ePolokwane, naseMpumalanga bezokufuna uncedo ku-CIDB ePitoli. Senza isicelo sokuba kubekho ii-ofisi zengingqi zika-CIDB kuwo onke amaphondo.
Okwesibini, mabancediswe onokontraka abancinane ukuze nabo bakhule, kwezo ndawo bakuzo. Nathi siyafuna ukubona oo-LTA, noo-Group 5 ezilalini. Lo mba kufuneka ucaciswe ngaphambi kokuba ikontraka inikwe isiniki-maxabiso, ukuba ukuze ikwazi ukuphumelela kufuneka incedisane kwaye isebenzisane neekontraka ezincinane, ingakumbi ezamakhosikazi nezolutsha. Ezo ziimfuno zikarhulumente okhokelwa yi-ANC, kungenjalo kuza kutya abantu abanye kude kuyokuvalwa. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[As the Portfolio Committee on Public Works we were saddened by the influx of our people from Mbizana, Port Elizabeth, Polokwane and Mpumalanga, seeking help from the CIDB in Pretoria. We made a recommendation that there must be regional offices in all the provinces.
Secondly, emerging contractors must be assisted so that they can grow in their respective areas. We also want to see LTAs and Group 5s in the rural areas. This issue must be stipulated before a big contractor is given a tender: in order for it to be successful, it must assist and subcontract the emerging contractors, especially contractors made up of women and youth. These are the aims of the ANC-led government, otherwise there will forever be a monopoly of tenders.]
Another goal is to improve the construction register service through business excellence. The CIDB plans to maintain the integrity and reliability of the construction registers and improve efficiency of the contractor registration process; to improve compliance and maintenance of the CIDB prescripts and to combat fraud and corruption in the construction industry. The CIDB plans to promote compliance with its prescripts and minimise the rate of fraud and corruption.
Other additional goals are to promote uniformity of construction procurement systems in the organs of state in order to improve infrastructure delivery; to monitor and evaluate the performance of the construction industry; to build, strengthen and maintain relationships with stakeholders - the CIDB plans to facilitate information-sharing among industry stakeholders - and, lastly, to continually improve the performance and growth of the sector.
The portfolio committee observed that most of the disadvantaged groups or contractors are registered in their thousands as grade one or two. Also, these grade-one contractors have to compete with more experienced contractors on a higher grade for the same contracts. As a result, CIDB is sometimes viewed as a gatekeeper. That's why the committee has asked for a demographic profile of contractors registered with CIDB in different provinces, as well as woman-owned contractors.
Lastly, on the CIDB, it is very sad to report that the Competition Commission of SA discovered that there was collusion in the construction industry by the major construction firms, including the building of the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup stadia. A total of 291 projects involving 21 firms are being investigated against an amount of R26 billion. These projects include major infrastructure projects such as stadia, roads, dams, mines and shopping centres.
Kumnandi ke ukwazi ukuba olo rhwaphilizo loongxowa-nkulu lwabonwa lwavezwa ngulo rhulumente ukhokelwa yi-ANC. Sithetha nje, ezo nkampani zenze oko kungcola zintyumpa-ntyumpeka ematyaleni. Xa iphela le nyanga sikuyo, ziza kuba sele zisaziwa nanguthathatha ukuba zeziphi na ezenze loo nto. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[It is good to know that such corruption by the big companies was unearthed and exposed by the ANC-led government. As we speak, those contractors who colluded in such acts are deep in the courts of law. At the end of this month the public will know which companies colluded in such acts.]
Regarding the Council for the Built Environment, it is a Schedule 3A public entity and one of its main roles is to oversee the six built environment professional councils which regulate the professions of architects, engineers, landscape architects, quantity surveyors, project and construction managers, as well as property valuers. It is also responsible for the provision of strategic leadership to the six professional councils, and it must also ensure that the various professional councils operate and adhere to the industry's regulatory norms and standards.
Over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, the CBE plans to focus on the following: the roll-out of built environment career awareness programmes, as well as maths and science support programmes in schools; school support programmes through awareness campaigns and workshops to support academic staff within universities; upgrading internal infrastructure that will assist the research department to become an efficient knowledge hub for the built environment; initiating mentorship projects to assess and accredit mentors within the CBE; to continue the engagement with African counterparts and expand partnerships within the built environment professions through current international memoranda of understanding; and, lastly, reporting quarterly on the three public functions of the professional councils, namely, professional registration, appeals and continued professional development.
The portfolio committee has noted with concern the delay in the reintroduction of the Built Environment Professions Bill, which was withdrawn from Parliament in the 2008-09 financial year due to the need for further consultation. The department has indicated that the Bill would be reintroduced in the 2013-14 financial year.
With regard to the Independent Development Trust, its strategic goals articulate its commitment and responsibility to promote sustainable development in poor and marginalised areas through delivery of integrated social infrastructure. The IDT aims to achieve these strategic goals by using resources in a prudent and efficient manner.
Programme 1, which is integrated service delivery, focuses on enhancing the government's delivery capacity and integrated social infrastructure development. Programme 2, which is administration, concentrates mainly on administration matters, which include governance issues such as performance planning and management, risk management, corporate governance, sustainability, monitoring and evaluation.
A total of 50 new or replacement schools have been targeted for the 2013-14 financial year, which is an increase of 10 schools over the previous year. The quarterly report indicates a gradual increase in the number of schools completed, which is a much appreciated achievement.
To the Minister and the Deputy Minister ...
... ngesiXhosa sithi ningadinwa nangomso ingakumbi kumaqobo namaqobokazana asebenza kwisebe namashishini karhulumente. Xa kusetyenzwa ngokwenene kuyaliwa, kuyahlatywana. Thina siyikomiti sifuna ukubona inguqu kwiSebe lezeMisebenzi yoLuntu, intetho ethi ... (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[... we are saying, soldier on, especially to the men and women who are working within the department and in public enterprises. When we are hard at work, we definitely fight, clash and are at loggerheads. As a committee, we want to see transformation in the Department of Public Works, and the motto that says ...]
... "South Africa works because Public Works works" should be a reality.
Lastly, to the Minister and Deputy Minister, we really appreciate what you are doing for the department. I will quote Dr David M Burns, who wrote:
Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life and your work.
The ANC supports the Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]