Chairperson, the Department of Public Works is one of the most important state departments due to the roles it plays in job creation, skills development and the combating of poverty. Needless to say, these three areas impact very heavily on any country's ability to achieve rates of economic growth that meets the country's social and material needs.
The department's role with regard to the creation of employment and stimulation of the economy is particularly important now that we are in the midst of an economic crisis. We are in full agreement with government that we must, despite the current recession, spend on infrastructure because such investment will generate growth when demand in domestic and global economy naturally increases.
Investment infrastructure has a huge potential to redress the high unemployment and poverty level in South Africa, and also to correct the skills deficit in disadvantaged communities. Commitment to poverty alleviation should continue to be high on government's agenda and should stay one of the focal points of the department. The shortcoming of and need to significantly improve upon the programme is self-evident. Internally, government has also become increasingly aware of its pitfalls.
The IFP had warned that the Expanded Public Works Programme, which has been the flagship government policy in the field of job creation until now, should not be seen as a welfare programme, as a job creation venture inculcating further dependence on the state by exaggerating its role in job creation. One of the significant challenges identified in the first phase of the Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP, has been the quality of training provided. The provision of two days of training per month of work on the EPWP is unlikely to have a dramatic impact on the skills composition of the labour force, and should not be measured on those terms.
While the Expanded Public Works Programme did absorb a large number of unskilled labourers, huge challenges remain in that projects are of a short duration and there is a lack of timely payments of government to small, medium and micro enterprises, SMMEs. It is unacceptable for our government to be seen as contributing to the demise of black business through not paying on time for services rendered.
The success of the EPWP will be measured by its ability to target beneficiaries from the poorest households in order to make a decisive impact on the widespread poverty that is distressing our country. The department, therefore, needs to urgently crack down on nepotism and favouritism with regard to public works projects. We cannot, and I repeat, we cannot allow a situation where jobs that are intended for the poor end up in the hands of politically connected people and siblings.
The department needs to consolidate its internal control and monitoring system as well as its compliance with Treasury regulations and the Public Finance Management Act. Too much reliance on consultants, especially considering the fact that some of the consultancies have been former employees of the department, raises serious questions of accountability and good governance. The Council of the Built Environment is a case in point, since we have received a qualified audit each year from the Auditor- General. We call upon the Department of Public Works to strengthen its human resource capabilities by speeding up its filling of vacant posts in its high ranks, and we take regard of and accept what the Minister has said on this matter. Thank you very much. [Applause.]