Department of public works, roads and infrastructure announces top priorities

ACCORDING to MEC Jerry Ndou, the newly configured department of public works, roads and infrastructure will focus on the following over the next five years:

• Through its Expanded Public Works Programme, the department plans to contribute towards the 426 000 work opportunity targets that premier Stanley Mathabatha announced during his state of the province address.

• The completion of the asset register, which was the source of the department’s qualified audit opinions for several years.

(A qualified opinion is issued when the Auditor-General encountered one of two types of situations that did not comply with generally accepted accounting principles, but the rest of the financial statements were fairly presented).

• The department will deliver 5 680 projects in the next five years on behalf of client departments and it will also deliver their own projects which will include the refurbishment of government buildings.

• The department has proclaimed and updated the road ownership and classification Gazette and transferred 1 683km of provincial surfaced roads to the South African National Roads Agency Limited. The department intends to engage municipalities in an attempt to popularise this initiative and get municipalities to know which roads are their responsibility in order to assist them in avoiding qualified audit reports on issues concerning road maintenance as has been the case in the past.

• The department will lead the construction of the long awaited government complex and legislature and also focus on the upgrading of the parliamentary village.