10 June 2004
Madame Speaker/ Chairperson
Honourable Minister
Honourable Deputy Minister
Honourable Members
Ladies and Gentleman
Chairperson, President Mbeki reminded all of us in one of his recent letters in ANC Today to turn the tide against unemployment and the scourge of poverty and underdevelopment. The implementation of a people's contract to create work and fight poverty must become the touchstone of our success.
During the first decade of our democracy, the Community Based Public Works Programme (CBPWP) achieved remarkable success in addressing poverty in six of the poorest parts of the country. Today, we are able to say that no government in the history of this country has created as many jobs as the ANC-led government!
Asset poverty is one of the key factors that define the developmental and growth challenges of the Third World in general and South Africa in particular.
During its existence, the CBPWP addressed the inadequacy of community halls, the lack of community production and multipurpose centres by providing the rural and poor with the facilities, which are necessary catalysts for development.
Over a period of ten years, through the CBPWP, the Department of Public Works invested more that R2.5billion in the development of infrastructure in Limpopo, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Free State, North West and KwaZulu Natal. In the process, the CBPWP created more than 160 000 job opportunities of which some 48% went to women and 30% to the youth. Jobs accrued from many other sectors of our economy. As Members of Parliament we must however recognise that while we might have won a number of battles so far, we are yet to win the war against poverty and joblessness.
Despite encountering many, many challenges and obstacles along the way, the ANC-led government has succeeded in making a concrete difference to lives of many of the poor and vulnerable.
This consistent delivery has earned us the overwhelming confidence of our people as reflected in the April elections. It then becomes important that we do not, as public representatives, misinterpret this vote of confidence. Comrades and friends, the burden of expectation has just multiplied!!!!
Over the past decade our people have been guided by the injunctions of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). We commend our government for embracing a people-driven process of development.
Honourable members, we have had some success in opening up the Construction Industry to those previously excluded, especially women and youth. However, the Department admits that transformation in this industry has been slower than anticipated and that there would have to be policy intervention around emerging contractor development. This programme is indispensable to the national goals of alleviating poverty and creating jobs and we urge the Department to engage with all stakeholders (including Parliament) in this regard.
The challenge of eliminating corruption belongs to all of us. The levels of criminality are declining thanks to the cooperation of police services and communities. In the same breath, it is our collective vigilance that must eradicate corruption. In reality corruption is a form of counter-revolution and must be confronted as such. Let me take this opportunity to remind South Africa of the toll-free Anti-corruption Hotline in the Department.
Honourable members, we must now deliver on our 5 year contract! We are under orders to create 1 million jobs through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).
How, where and when are we going to deliver on this contract? In particular, how are we going to translate the infrastructure needs of the 2010 World Cup into jobs? We know this will happen, but we would like to see more concrete plans in this regard.
The President officially announced the establishment of the EPWP as a comprehensive inter-governmental, people-centred programme developed to fulfil the overwhelming trust and confidence the masses of our people have placed in government. If we are to move forward, we must as a country, have a functioning Knowledge Management system, through which we learn from both our successes and our failures.
In this regard, we must of necessity take a lesson or two from the CBPWP into the EPWP. What management systems did we learn? What were our challenges? These are some of the questions we must ask. We must also remind ourselves that the answers to these questions lie with us.
After the Growth and Development Summit, Public Works was then given the mandate to co-ordinate and monitor the EPWP programme of Government. As part of the preparations the work of Government has been arranged according to sectors namely Infrastructure, Environmental Sector, Economic and Social Sector.
In the Infrastructure Sector, the Expanded Public Works Programme conditions for the Provincial and Municipal Infrastructure Grants have been put in place via the 2004 Budget. Through this mechanism, Provinces and Municipalities are required to implement a portion of their infrastructure projects in the 2004-2005 financial year using labour intensive construction methods.
We understand that the Department of Minerals and Energy has committed to contributing to the Expanded Public Works Programme through its electrification activities. We also understand that the Department of Housing has indicated that it could make very significant contributions to the EPWP by using labour-intensive construction methods for the construction of the civil works on housing projects, and through integrating its artisan and contractor learnership programmes with those planned by the DPW under the EPWP.
The process of acquiring, managing and storing knowledge should be a key feature of the EPWP. The Department of Public Works has informed us that they are currently planning a national training programme to train all district and local municipalities on the use of its EPWP guidelines. These are commendable achievements, and we trust that the other sectors will also be providing us with their plans to give effect to the targets the President set out in the State of the Nation Address.
We understand the objectives of the Environmental Sector to be: · Creating 160 000 work opportunities over the next three years and providing training through these jobs to facilitate longer-term employment; · Linking people in the marginalized "second economy' with opportunities and resources to enable their participation in the developed firs economy' · Integrating sustainable rural development and urban renewal; · Creating land-based livelihoods; · Promoting the natural resources and cultural heritage; · Rehabilitation of natural resources and protection of biodiversity; · Promoting tourism.
We will be monitoring closely how the Department, and the Environmental Sector is giving effect to its different programmes and activities in terms of the EPWP.
Alone, the EPWP is not a panacea to unemployment or lack of skills. As a matter of fact, the EPWP is one of many initiatives introduced and constantly revised and refined by government as part of its contribution to poverty eradication and job creation. Its success will depend on: · Partnerships with business, labour and civil society. In this regard, I would like to call on all financial institutions, jointly and severally, to become fully involved with the EPWP through providing credit facilities and other forms of support to young entrepreneurs .
· Co-operation between the three spheres of government and across government departments. This would require that issues such as who is ultimately accountable for the smooth running of all the different expanded public works programmes be clarified. We also need to define exactly what roles have to be played by the different departments and role-players, e.g. Housing, Labour, Social Development, Trade and Industry and local government structures, so as to ensure the smooth and effective functioning of the EPWP.
· Active role of Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).
· Ability and capacity to spend capital works allocation, particularly for infrastructure development.
· Effectiveness of the EPWP Unit in aggressively driving the programme. In this regard, we commend the media campaign to popularise the EPWP. However, we remind the Department that our people are asking for more concrete information about the different programmes.
Let me take this opportunity to thank the Department of Public Works for the briefings that our Committee received in the build-up to this Debate. We are grateful to the Minister, Deputy Minister, D-G and the officials for setting aside so much time to engage with us around the Strategic Plan and the Budget. Thank you.
The Committee on Public Works is planning to hold a workshop on the EPWP in August 2004 and we have invited all stakeholders to participate. Workshops, such as this, are important to facilitate understanding of the implementation of the EPWP.
I also want to remind all MPs that we must continue to be vigilant in giving effect to our received mandate and perform our oversight functions to the best of our abilities.
At this point, Minister, allow me to be opportunistic and ask a question relating to Local Government. Municipalities are dependant on rates and taxes including payment for services for their financial viability. Is the Department acting in an exemplary manner to comply with this financial responsibility to municipalities so that they can provide services properly?
In conclusion, I call on everyone involved in the peoples' contract to build on our solid foundation and ensure that all South Africans, and all Africans, can say with the President."I am proud to be an African."
I support the Budget Vote for the Department of Public Works.