Hon Chairperson; hon members of Cabinet; hon chairperson and members of the Portfolio Committee on Public Works; hon Members of Parliament; let me also recognise the MECs who are here - my colleagues from the provinces; the chairpersons and senior management of our public entities; the representatives from the department's young professionals training scheme; the beneficiaries of the Expanded Public Works Programme; let me also recognise members of my family, particularly my wife and my aunt, the lady who looked after me when I was growing up in Tembisa, by the way, although I was born in the Transkei. Somebody thought that my family members were brought here by a big bus from the Transkei, even though some of my family members have lived in the Western Cape for a long time due to the apartheid migratory labour system. I hope they have the right status now and are no longer called refugees. [Laughter.]
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my maiden Budget Vote speech as the Minister of Public Works. More importantly, this Budget Vote marks a milestone in the life of the Department of Public Works. We come from a dark place, characterised by corruption and mismanagement, evidenced by eight years of qualified audits and topped off by a disclaimer in the previous audit. We are fortunate that we have institutions such as the Auditor-General, the Public Protector and the Special Investigating Unit, as well as Parliament, to expose and document wrongdoing. We stand at a crossroads. We know what the problems are now. We have developed a broad strategy to turn around the department. The task now is to implement. To quote yesterday's editorial in The New Age: "Nxesi must act swiftly."
Keep in mind that nothing I promise you here today will come to fruition unless or until we tackle the underlying systemic flaws in the department.
In the time available, I want to do and cover the following: to table the Budget Vote No 7 for the Department of Public Works; to summarise the record of activities for the 2011-12 financial year; to highlight the main priorities for the 2012-13 financial year; and to present the ongoing turnaround strategy for the department.
With regard to the Budget Vote, we welcome the allocated budget of nearly R8 billion for the department in the fiscal year 2012-13. This represents an increase of approximately 2% from the previous year's budget. The message to the department is very clear: Don't even think of a real increase in budget until there is a real improvement in performance.
The R8 billion budget reflects government priorities and the department's efforts to address the following: Outcome 4: Creating decent employment through inclusive economic growth; Outcome 8: Sustainable human settlements and improved quality of household life; and Outcome 12: Creating an efficient, effective and development-oriented Public Service and an empowered, fair and inclusive citizenship.
My department contributes to attaining two further outcomes, which are Outcome 5: A skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive citizenship; and Outcome 6: To create an efficient, competitive and responsive infrastructure network.
In addition to its core mandate as custodian and manager of the state's immovable assets, the department has a mandate to create jobs and work opportunities and to address the skills shortage, particularly in the built environment professions. All these speak to the outcomes I highlighted earlier.
It is important to make the point that, despite the flaws, major sections of the department remain functional and productive owing to the commitment and hard work of officials. This gives me hope for the future. The Expanded Public Works Programme, the EPWP, is a case in point.
The EPWP is the flagship programme of this department and of government in that it is part of our response to the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality, something that was highlighted by the President in his state of the nation address. Our target in the second phase of the EPWP, for the period 2009 to 2014, is to create 4,5 million work opportunities. With more than 2 million work opportunities already created since 2009, we are well on our way to exceeding that particular target.
Moreover, in our choice of projects in which we seek to improve the quality of life of our poorest communities, examples include the social-sector programmes, such as community-based care and early childhood development. I have just been chastised by the Minister of Social Development for not bringing in the heroes and heroines who are busy with this particular programme. The second example is the Environment and Culture programme, which includes projects concerned with the management of water, fire, waste and coastal regions. The third example has to do with large-scale infrastructure projects, which provide skills training to young people.
The EPWP is making a real difference to people's lives, bringing back a sense of responsibility and dignity. A beneficiary who is here today stated recently, and I quote, "Because of the EPWP, I am now able to walk into Shoprite and buy food for my family." [Applause.]
None of this would be possible without the active partnership, co- ordination and participation of the municipalities, provinces and NGOs, as well as community-based and faith-based organisations. I am pleased to share with you that 98% of the municipalities have now signed up for the