Macpherson declares war on ‘construction mafia’

New Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson aims to turn South Africa into a construction site to create infrastructure-led economic growth that will ignite job creation throughout South Africa.

He has also declared war on the “construction mafia”.

Delivering his budget vote policy speech in parliament on Tuesday, Macpherson committed himself and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) to:

• Delivering a comprehensive asset register for the government and the owners of these assets, with the value of properties under the custodianship of the department totalling R154 billion at 31 March 2024;
• Reducing the DPWI’s leasing portfolio;
• Declaring war on pit toilets in schools;
• Engaging affected ministers of offending departments to ensure they pay the R12.6 billion as at 31 March 2024 that is rightfully due to the DPWI; and
• Continuing to implement measures such as lifestyle audits to detect, prevent and prosecute corruption.

Macpherson said in making South Africa a construction site, the government must address the challenges that impede the implementation of goals, including:

• Disruption and hijacking of construction sites;
• Projects not being completed on time and within budget;
• Corruption and poor project management;
• Construction industry safety standards not being adhered to; and
• Strengthening the professionalism of public works.

Macpherson said the DPWI will strengthen social facilitation and improve communication with stakeholders and communities on infrastructure projects, which is important for managing community expectations and for community buy-in.

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“Equally, the Department will work closely with law enforcement to bring an end to work stoppages or disruptions at construction sites,” he added.

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson, seen with Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube at the first Cabinet Lekgotla of the Government of National Unity at Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria at the weekend. Image: Kopano Tlape, GCIS

“Lawlessness must not be tolerated. We must all seize the moment to end violence, intimidation, and extortion in the construction sector.

“Anyone who seeks to hold back infrastructure projects must be treated as an enemy of the state,” he said

“There is no room for negotiations or delays to our projects.”

Macpherson said, among other things, he also wants:

• Infrastructure development to become a top priority by putting in place measures that will increase the ratio of gross fixed capital formation from 14% to 30% of GDP;
• To work relentlessly to build new public-private partnerships (PPPs) to roll out new energy, communication, infrastructure, water and transport infrastructure;
• To ramp up maintenance and utilisation of the state property asset portfolio;
• To eliminate red tape and support the growth of small businesses; and
• To root out corruption, criminality and sabotage of the construction sector.

Macpherson said he is also absolutely committed to seeing Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) become the focal point of infrastructure planning in the country.

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“We can no longer afford a fragmented approach to infrastructure delivery, which has only delivered indifferent results,” he said.

Macpherson said the government’s leasing portfolio has grown significantly in the past due to a lack of available, suitable government properties.

He said user departments have increasingly opted for leased properties, leading to a budget exceeding R5 billion per year.

“This is unsustainable and the department’s goal is to reduce the department’s leasing portfolio.

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“I want to see government departments leasing government buildings in CBDs, not just those in nice areas with sea views,” he added.

“We must use our buildings to lead inner city regeneration.”

Macpherson said it is against this background that the DPWI has made a call for the prioritisation of available state properties for the accommodation and offices for government departments.

He similarly wants to work with the public to ensure that the government is able to identify buildings and land that are a threat to public health and safety.

“This will allow us to either intervene or look to partners in other spheres of government who may want to take this asset over for public good uses,” he said.

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EFF MP Leigh-Ann Mathys responded to the speech by calling for a state-owned construction company that has the internal capacity “and actually does the building” plus a state-owned cement company.

‘Overly ambitious’

Consulting Engineers South Africa CEO Chris Campbell said that without wanting to sound disparaging, he doesn’t think the minister is being realistic.

“It sounds like an overly ambitious plan because the fact of the matter is not all of these areas are within his control and it’s going to take him getting cooperation and collaboration across various ministries so that they don’t work in silos.”

Campbell added that as a government of national unity, the government needs to focus on political and policy certainty.

“Without that, you are not going to get the investment you hope to get. That is just the way things work with private sector money.”

Campbell said if the DPWI is going to deal with the construction mafia, it has to make sure that the crime fighters – the police, the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) and all of them – are on board.

He said that a programme was in place but has not borne much fruit in place under Macpherson’s predecessor Patricia de Lille.

“One wonders what he is going to do different[ly],” he said.

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Campbell said ministers need to “take stock of realities before putting out such shopping lists, which create a sense of hope among people where people are desperate”.

“It is disingenuous because it’s not within their control,” he said.

“This broad use of infrastructure is actually making promises around a whole lot of things when actually we will need to bring all the players together and put together a plan of how we are going to go about doing these things.

“This is where the private sector is more than a willing partner in that process to help rebuild capacity where it is required and get one or two things right so that we can get the certainty that is required for private sector investment,” he said.

Doubts about plans to address construction mafia

Master Builders South Africa (MBSA) executive director Roy Mnisi said the construction industry should be encouraged by what Macpherson is saying and doing in the short space of time since his appointment.

“He is making sure South Africa becomes a construction site. That is something that we should be happy about,” he said.

Mnisi also has doubts about the department’s plans to address the construction mafia and is unsure if Macpherson will “achieve significant milestones within a year or so because it’s very much entrenched”.

“It has reached a level where we believe that it needs a really concerted effort and it will take some time,” said Mnisi.

“It will need his counterparts and Minister Senzo Mchunu as the new Minister of Police to come on board and assist insofar as tackling that serious concern. He also will need assistance from law enforcement agencies, including the courts and everyone that is within the security space, to make sure that he succeeds.

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“I don’t see him succeeding alone in that space,” he said.

Mnisi said MBSA is aware of Macpherson’s announcement about the infrastructure advisory committee that is aimed at assisting him and the department in driving the infrastructure development aspirations and the projects.

He believes this will go a long way in assisting the government with various strategic projects that were announced some years ago, some long ago as 2016, which have not yet been delivered.

Mnisi said MBSA also obtained comfort from Macpherson’s appreciation of the low level of expenditure on infrastructure at municipal level, which is one of the impediments to infrastructure development in the country.

“If he can work with his counterparts in local government, it will go a long way to assisting the sector to grow to levels that are acceptable and assist in rebuilding the economy,” he said.

This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here