Copyright © Department of Public Works. 2009. All Rights Reserved.

256 MADIBA STREET, PRETORIA 012 406 1000/ 012 406 2000

Legislative and other mandates

In terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No 108 of 1996), the President has allocated a functional mandate to the Department of Public Works. The mandate of the Department is also confirmed through the annual Appropriation Act. The State Land Disposal Act (Act No 48 of 1961) furthermore mandates the Minister of Public Works to carry out certain functions. In addition to that the Department administers the legislation mentioned in Appendix Two. 

From the above legislation, the Department’s mandate is to be the custodian and manager of all national governments’ fixed assets, for which other legislation does not make another department or institution responsible. This includes the determination of accommodation requirements, rendering expert built environment services to client departments, the acquisition, maintenance and disposal of such assets.

In reflecting on its mandate, the department sees itself as:

• The "Handy Man" of the State
  
• The "Leader" of the EPWP
  
• The Regulator of the industries and associated professions falling under its jurisdiction.
  
• The Asset Manager for and on behalf of State.
  

DPW AS THE HANDY MAN OF THE STATE 

• The department is acutely aware and committed to ensuring that its accommodation provisioning function meets its clients’ operational, technical and social needs.
• In recognition of this imperative as well as the observation of the poor state in which public assets are in, the department developed a National Infrastructure Maintenance Strategy (NIMS) that was approved by Cabinet in July 2006.
• The vision of NIMS is that infrastructure is adequately maintained and operated, resulting in sustained service delivery, growth and employment creation, thus contributing to the goals of ASGISA and the EPWP.
• NIMS is founded around four thrusts namely:
  1. Strengthening the regulatory framework governing planning and budgeting for infrastructure maintenance
  2. Assisting institutions with non-financial resources
  3. Developing the maintenance strategy
  4. Strengthening monitoring, evaluation and reporting and feeding this into a process of continuous improvement
  5. This strategy gives substance to PFMA Act, which places an obligation on accounting officers “for the management of the assets of the entity, including the safeguarding and maintenance of those assets”.
  6. The department has since established an Intergovernmental Implementation Steering Committee lead by the Minister to develop an implementation plan of NIMS.
• Focus on the improvement of service delivery efforts to clients through Zimisele
• Build the capacity of the department for the implementation of the EPWP and NYS on the implementation of the building programme

DPW as the "THE LEADER" of the EPWP 

• The department derives its mandate from the President’s call following the Cabinet Lekgotla held in July 2006, the mandate which includes the eradication of poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment. To this end, the department has established critical strategic with the three spheres of government, SOE’s and the private sector.
• As would be revealed, in the discussion of the budget, the department has increased its staff in EPWP to capacitate it for the leadership role it has to play.
• The following programmes will be implemented, monitored and evaluated in the medium term:
  1. Expand beneficiary training
  2. Enhance internal EPWP capacity
  3. Provincial and Municipal EPWP delivery capacity
  4. Enhance performance of the Environmental Sector
  5. Clarify on-going role of the EPWP
  6. In line with the President’s call, the department in conjunction with DoL and UYF through its EPWP unit will be employing 5000 young people in its building maintenance programme in the 2007/08 financial year under the NYS. A similar roll-out programme will be implemented by the Provincial Public Works.
  7. The department will further implement its building programme using EPWP methodology. Projects amounting to R2.9 billion have already been identified for implementation as from 2007/0.8 financial year

DPW as the REGULATOR 

• The department continues to provide strategic direction for sustainable growth, transformation and development of the construction sector in partnerships with its sector entities.
• The construction sector charter has recently been gazetted by the dti and the process of establishing the Construction Sector Council is currently underway
• The department through the CIDB is implementing the national contractor development programme in line with the CIDB Act.
• The department initiated a review of the CIDB in January 2007, and it is hoped that that the results of the Review Panel will assist in identifying the focus areas that will ensure that DPW, through CIDB achieves the objectives of the CIDB Act.
• In recognition of its responsibility of ensuring that there is constant supply of adequate built environment resources, the department will:
  1. Enter into a bilateral agreement with the Cuban Government in May 2007, to source built environment professionals from Cuba to be deployed in the various spheres of Government.
  2. Working with CIDB, the Department will develop a comprehensive skills development strategy for the industry.
  3. Explore effective ways of engaging the institutions of higher learning to ensuring the constant supply of adequate suitably qualified built environment professionals / practitioners in future.
  4. Continue with the implementation of the existing skills development initiatives in the form of 2014 Youth Foundation
• In line with our key strategic pillars, the department will focus on the transformation of the property sector in the forthcoming months to deal amongst others with the deracialisation of this important sector in the country’s economy
• Extension of GIAMA: The focus in the medium term will be assisting provincial and national departments in the understanding and implementation of GIAMA. The department will continue engagement with dplg and SALGA to bring local government on board.

DPW as the Asset Manager 

• Asset Management ensures that immovable property owned and/or utilised by the State for delivering various government services yield functional, economic and social benefits to the State
• The department will as asset manager for the State:
  1. Ensure effective and efficient management of government’s immovable assets.
  2. Implement GIAMA once promulgated
  3. Develop norms, standards and toolkits for proper management of immovable assets. The property performance standards will enhance the optimal performance of state owned and leased properties through determination of the minimum requirements in relation to cost and space as well as ensuring that the true cost of assets are reflected.
• The data integrity of the Department’s National Asset Register is currently being improved.
• The branch has identified a number of unutilised properties from the asset register to ensure linkage between service delivery and resource planning through out all government spheres. This rationalisation takes into consideration:
  • Integrated Development Plans (IDPs)
  • Local Economic Development (LEDs)
  • Community Based Programmes

OTHER STRATEGIC ISSUES 

• The department has in the past fully spent its budget - this trend will continue in the future.
• The department had been successful in turning around its financial management challenges and this trend will continue for both the department and its newly established Property Management Trading Entity that will be reporting for the first time in the 2006/07 financial year.
• In line with the Minister’s mandate, the department will constantly play its oversight over its sector entities to ensure that their legislative mandates are fulfilled whilst also providing its guidance under applicable circumstances as well as discharging its reporting and related functions to Parliament and its Committees.
• Enhance skills development through internships, learnerships and external bursary programme focusing on the built environment professions
• Reduce the vacancy rate in the department’s establishment
• As far as practically possible, unbundle the building programme projects to advance BEE procurement objectives