GOVERNANCE
Patricia de Lille, Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure
De Lille promises big changes Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Patricia de Lille has promised big changes from her department, including prompt payment, legislative changes and a recalibrated mandate. By Danielle Petterson
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ddressing delegates at the 2020 CESA Infrastructure Indaba, Minister Patricia de Lille said that consulting engineers have a critical role to play in partnering with government to speed up the implementation of infrastructure delivery.
Restructuring the department De Lille believes that the addition of infrastructure in the Department of Public Works shows government’s seriousness about giving infrastructure the attention it deserves. To help deliver infrastructure, the minister says she has recalibrated that mandate of the department to align it with the seven key priorities of government, the Mediumterm Strategic Framework and the National Development Plan. President Cyril Ramaphosa has also gazetted that the Presidential Infrastructure
Coordinating Committee (PICC) as well as the Infrastructure Delivery Management System will form part of the newly restructured department.
Improved planning According to De Lille, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) has identified many problems pertaining to infrastructure roll-out and management, including poor spatial alignment and coordination across the three spheres of government and between the various sectors within infrastructure. To address this, the DPWI has developed a Draft National Spatial Development Framework, which is currently available for public comment. There are currently stalled infrastructure projects across the country as a result of poor pre-project planning that serves to de-risk projects. A major focus is building capacity for pre-project planning within
the DPWI, which will soon be advertising for positions. She also points to the disjointed governance of the infrastructure life cycle. To this end, the DPWI will be looking at new methodologies, including the build, operate and transfer model. Planning methodologies will be changed, and budgets will increasingly focus on maintenance. “The maintenance backlog in municipalities is frightening,� she said. An MoU with the British government will provide funding for project pre-preparation and the DPWI has prepared several bankable projects, having relooked the criteria for solid bankable projects. To date, National Treasury has been the entry point for major infrastructure projects, which has caused an imbalance, resulting in financial criteria taking precedence over the sustainability and viability of infrastructure, explained De Lille. Going forward, there will
IMIESA April 2020
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