IN an effort to cut costs and fast-track service delivery, KZN Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) MEC Martin Meyer has announced a groundbreaking partnership that will see the department’s professional expertise being extended directly to municipalities, “at minimal or no cost” to taxpayers.

Meyer said that the department has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the provincial Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) that will see the acceleration of infrastructure delivery across the province. “This is a game-changer for how infrastructure is delivered in KwaZulu-Natal,” said Meyer.

“At DPWI we have the experts, the architects, the engineers, the professionals needed to fast-track infrastructure delivery. We are thus exceptionally proud to announce that a MOU between DPWI and COGTA is now in place, that will allow municipalities to make use of our professional services, at almost no cost to those municipalities. This will improve capacity within our municipalities, significantly decrease cost of infrastructure projects, and improve the speed of delivery.”

KwaZulu-Natal, home to 43 local municipalities and 10 districts, has long battled with infrastructure delivery delays due to a lack of technical capacity at local government level. With this new agreement, municipalities will be able to access the department’s own architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, and project managers, ensuring quality service delivery while reducing the need for external consultants.

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The MEC extended gratitude to MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi of COGTA for his leadership and support in bringing the MOU to life. Buthelezi welcomed the partnership and said that it is a turning of a new chapter for service delivery in the province. “This in an innovative way to cut cost and improve service delivery,” said Buthelezi.

“This is not just an administrative arrangement, but an investment in service delivery in the province. The extension of the Public Work engineers and professional staff to municipalities will ensure that no municipality will have an excuse for other expenditure of municipal grants because these professionals are now there and readily available to be used at zero costs to municipalities. We applaud this bold move and vision by MEC Meyer to include municipalities in the greater framework of Public Works.”

Buthelezi echoed that this move will accelerate service delivery in the province, effectively cutting out the middle man and minimising the exorbitant costs of hiring consultants.

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