(a)(i) The Department has appointed a service provider to assist with the development of the National Railway Safety Strategy. Payments of invoices are aligned to project deliverables/milestones. The Department only process payment once it is satisfied with the deliverables and any delay in finalising the deliverables subsequently leads to under expenditure for that period.
(ii) The project team had regular engagements with the service provider in order to fast-track the deliverables
(iii) This is monitored through constant engagement, progress reports and regular follow ups with the service provider.
(b)(i) (aa)(bb)(cc)(dd) The period which was initially set out for stakeholder consultation proved to be not sufficient which affected deliverables, the timelines, the timeframes and the deadlines.
(ii) The the timelines, the timeframes and the deadlines are interrelated and in addressing them the Department continuously work closely with the service provider to ensure that the missed time-frames/timelines/deadlines are corrected.
NW2781E