Chairperson, hon members, today's assembly of the National Council of Provinces is a significant landmark in the future of the construction industry. It brings to fruition five years of activity that has engaged all formations of the Government and the industry in an historic policy-making process.
The collaboration that has led to this landmark moment was set in motion by a meeting in 1995 between the Department of Public Works and the captains of the South African construction industry. That meeting addressed the role of the partnership between the industry and the Government in reconstruction and development, as well as the structural impediments to growth, development, delivery and transformation of the construction industry. It gave impetus to the development of a comprehensive policy framework, within which the industry can play a more strategic role in social development and economic growth.
The Bill before us emanates from the White Paper on Creating an Enabling Environment for Reconstruction, Growth and Development in the Construction Industry. Published last year, the White Paper sets out a comprehensive industry development strategy and proposes the establishment of a statutory construction industry development board, or CIDB, to drive this strategy in partnership with all Government delivery agencies and the private sector. This is the essential purpose of the Construction Industry Development Board Bill before this House.
The construction industry is a national asset in the challenges that face our country. It has a pivotal role to play in infrastructure delivery, to meet the needs of ordinary South Africans. It is this objective which underpins the Government's vision and its commitment to construction industry development.
We are, fortunately, able to build on an industry which is strategically developed and which provides much-needed employment and dignity to thousands of people. In the South African context and, indeed, in the context of our region, the industry's development must be geared towards rolling back the enormous legacy of an inadequate infrastructure, its inequitable distribution, and the underdevelopment of locally based physical and human resources. Unlocking the industry's potential to address this stark reality is at the core of the enabling legislation before this Council, but this potential is impeded.
Previous government policies and market forces have distorted the nature and profile of the South African construction industry, which is characterised by adversarial relationships between clients and contractors, contractors and subcontractors, and in the workforce itself. Its accessibility is a factor of volatile demand and impacts negatively on sustainable employment and human resource development. This affects performance in relation to quality, productivity, safety, health and environment. It ultimately impacts on value for money to clients and investors.
Previous legislation affecting the construction industry reinforced the fundamental intentions of apartheid and limited black participation to the domain of unskilled artisans and cheap labour. This was achieved not only through the Bantu Education Act, but also through the Native Building Workers Act of 1951. Job reservation was further reinforced by the Industrial Conciliation Act of 1956.
These instruments of policy shaped the entire industry to the benefit of white artisans, contractors, professionals and materials suppliers. Today the emerging black sector faces a range of hurdles in the way of accessing markets, training and finance which contribute to a vicious cycle that pegs the sector's growth. It is against this backdrop that the Government and the private sector embarked on a structured process of engagement to reshape the industry. It is important that I should highlight some of the significant milestones of this process that underpins the legislation before us.
The Green Paper published in 1997 invited public comment on the draft policy to enable thorough planning and consultation with all stakeholders towards the establishment of the CIDB. The Minister of Public Works appointed an interministerial task team which started its work in 1998. The task team established an industry-wide reference group to ensure the inclusive input of public and private sector stakeholders.
It further set up a number of focus groups for industry specialists to refine key outputs identified in the Green Paper, such as the register of contractors, which is an important function of the CIDB. This partnership redefined Government policy as embodied in the White Paper of 1999.
In November 1991 a two-day industry summit workshop to debate the first draft legislation was convened. In December, the amended draft legislation for public comment was published. In July 2000, taking cognisance of public comment, the draft Bill was further amended and, ultimately, certified. In August 2000, together with provincial MECs we convened public sector workshops in all nine provinces. Since then the legislation has been refined by the NCOP Select Committee on Public Services.
To ensure a further opportunity for public comment, the select committee invited submissions, which it has considered in the final amendment. I am pleased to note that these submissions confirm the support of all key stakeholders.
Under the capable leadership of the acting chairperson, the hon Mokoena, the select committee has effected significant improvements to the legislation. The NCOP process has ensured the structured input of all provincial legislatures. This is particularly significant, in view of the binding nature of the Bill on all organs of state.
I now want to deal with the essence of the legislation. Recognising the dispersed nature of the industry, and its many role-players, including clients and service providers, the Construction Industry Development Board will constitute a national competence for industry development. It will provide strategic leadership to realise the Government's vision of a construction industry policy and strategy that promotes stability, fosters economic growth and international competitiveness, creates sustainable employment and addresses historical imbalances as it generates a new industry capacity. That comes from the White Paper.
The core objectives of the CIDB are to establish and promote appropriate and uniform best practice standards and guidelines that promote improved industry stability and performance, as well as social and economic objectives; to ensure the uniform application of policy throughout all spheres of Government and provide uniform and ethical standards throughout the industry; to promote the sustainable growth of the construction economy, and to improve the investment environment and the participation of the emerging sector in the mainstream economy.
The board will drive best practice through programmes and instruments that include the establishment of a register of contractors, a register of projects and a code of conduct. It is important that the board itself should comprise outstanding practitioners with a broad development perspective and a commitment that looks beyond the narrow interests of individual stakeholders. The appointment of the board must also take account of the need to reflect the race, gender and geographic composition of our land.
The responsibility conferred on the board is immense. The board will therefore continuously require the support and input of stakeholders. This will be accomplished through the establishment of the stakeholder forum. This forum will enable the representation of all stakeholders including government departments, provinces and local authorities. It will also include representation of employer bodies, the professions, organised labour, the emerging sector and others. To enable policy co-ordination and the identification of national priorities, the legislation appropriately requires the Minister of Public Works to consult with relevant Ministers and provincial MECs.
In conclusion, the CIDB must be a catalyst for change. It must ensure sustainable growth, regional and global competitiveness and the continuous inclusion of historical marginalised sectors of our society. It must promote investment and value for money to clients.
Finally, I would like to thank the task team, as well as the department's drafting team and all the stakeholders, for the hard work that has been put into the legislation before us. In particular I wish to thank the members of the select committee and the provincial legislatures for their immense effort to ensure that the legislation was finalised in time for consideration at today's assembly of the NCOP.
I regard it as critically important that the legislation now reflects the concerns of the provinces. Today, as I have said, is indeed an historic day. The passage of the Bill before this House will put the construction industry firmly on the national agenda in the interests of all South Africans. As we move forward to implement this enabling legislation, we will continue to rely on the commitment of all role-players to the growth, development and transformation of the construction industry. [Applause.]