Chairperson, these members are not tired at all. They can go for another five hours.
Chairperson, hon Ministers and Deputy Minister present, hon members, all protocol observed, I wish to kick-start my debate on this budget by supporting the Minister and the department on the budget, hoping and wishing that this, as one of our critically important departments in relieving the burden of hunger and unemployment of our people, will ensure that, owing to the enormous mandate we have been given by them, we do not disappoint.
This department is in the process of implementing the asset management Act passed recently by this House. This is an Act that marks a turning point in the efforts of our government to ensure that state assets are in line with the best practices prevailing and comply and conform to international standards. This is an Act designed to show and prove beyond any point that when it relates to asset management, we have adopted the "mitirho ya vulavula" [actions speak louder than words] approach.
Hon members, the local sphere of government, which remains an effective and efficient means of delivering high quality services to the people of our country, was left out in the provisions of the Act. Now, as we act, national and provincial spheres of government march in line with the provisions of this Bill, whose main objectives, amongst other things, are the provision of a uniform immovable asset management framework; promotion of accountability and transparency within government; optimisation of the cost of service delivery by ensuring accountability for capital and recurrent works; and improving health and safety in the working environment.
The scope of application of the Bill was not extended to the local sphere of government - a matter which has extensively been dealt with in this House and concerns related to that noted.
Hon members, we request the department to ensure that the compilation of the asset register is completed. We are fully aware of the fact that assets get moved in and out of the register, but we believe that there are still some assets, especially in the former homeland areas, which have not been registered. One wonders what progress has and is being made with the recommendations made on the report.
The Act provides for good housekeeping as far as asset control on land and buildings is concerned, and it also recognises the need to co-ordinate financial controls in both spheres of government to which it is currently applicable. The strict compliance with the Public Finance Management Act, PFMA, places new financial reporting disciplines upon department officials in respect of immovable assets.
My concern, hon members, is the extensive use of consultants in our provincial governments. It is not a discovery by the DA, hon member. As the ANC, we are on top of the issues. We are aware of the challenges. That is why the matter has been aggressively criticised in the state of the nation address, and thus our provincial departments are encouraged to quickly pursue training of our public servants in the management of assets and other specialised areas so that we curb this tendency and avert the huge sums of monies being paid to consultants for work that is supposed to be done by public servants and channel these funds to other areas that are in desperate need.
We have had some success in opening up the construction industry to those who were previously excluded, especially women and youth. However, we know for a fact that transformation in this industry has been slower than anticipated and that we will need to have policy intervention around emerging contractor development.
This programme is indispensable to the national goals of alleviating poverty and creating jobs. We urge the department in this public entity, the Construction Industry Development Board, CIDB, to engage all stakeholders in an endeavour to open up the industry to all.
Of concern, again, is the slow pace of transformation in the industry, which results in the many construction companies being at the first grade, and the highest of our contractors being only at Grade 5, with only two or three at Grade 9.
We urge the department to do everything in its power to ensure that development strategies are put in place. These are strategies that will assist companies of previously disadvantaged communities in getting the necessary impetus to have the skills and experience to be eligible for higher grades, whilst assuring that the department and the quality of what is produced is not compromised.
Lastly, Chairperson, sometimes I get confused in understanding whether some of the DA members are politicians, photographers or investigative journalists. They always bombard us with unnecessary photos and information. These members must learn to be confident of their debate and facts, and must have confidence in our Ministers because they are very responsible. Thank you very much. [Applause.]