DPWI reforms aimed at better life for all

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DPWI reforms aimed at better life for all

DPWI reforms aimed at better life for all Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson says his department is taking the public into its confidence as wrongdoing is investigated while also strengthening accountability, protecting public money and ensuring that it works for all South Africans. “In the Budget Vote I will deliver this afternoon, I will speak about the broader work of this department, the work to unlock infrastructure investment, reform public employment, stabilise entities, unblock delayed projects, use public assets for public good, and turn Public Works and Infrastructure into the economic delivery unit of South Africa,” Macpherson said. Addressing the media in Cape Town on ongoing investigations and progress in the department, Macpherson said his department cannot speak honestly about delivery without also speaking about accountability. “We cannot build a capable department on top of broken systems. We cannot ask the public to trust us with billions of rands in assets, leases, projects and grants if we are not prepared to confront the failures, irregularities and abuses that have weakened this department over many years.” He added that the department cannot turn South Africa into a construction site if the very department that must help lead that effort is still being held back by dysfunction, weak consequence management and those who believe that public money exists to serve private interests. “When we ask hard questions about leases, contracts, ghost employees, lifestyle audits, underused buildings, failed projects and irregular procurement, we are not doing so to create headlines. We are doing so because we want this department to work and to serve the country. “Every irregular lease weakens the state’s ability to provide proper accommodation to client departments. Every failed infrastructure project delays services to communities. Every ghost employee steals from unemployed South Africans who need real opportunities. “Every act of gatekeeping in public employment undermines the dignity of the very people EPWP was created to serve. And every attempt to avoid accountability makes it harder to rebuild the public trust,” the Minister explained. He added that the most urgent area of reform in this portfolio remains the Property Management Trading Entity, or PMTE which is responsible for managing one of South Africa’s largest public property portfolios. “It should be helping the state reduce wasteful leasing, unlock value from state assets, provide quality accommodation to client departments, and use public land and buildings for the public good. “Instead, PMTE has too often become associated with weak systems, inflated leases, underutilised buildings, poor contract management and serious financial pressure. Its overdraft has doubled to nearly R4 billion in the last 20 months. It has not achieved a clean audit since it was established in 2014,” the minister said. Macpherson said despite the state owning thousands of buildings and large portions of land, government continues to spend approximately R6 billion a year on private leases, many of which have raised serious concerns about value for money, market-related pricing and proper legal compliance. “We have seen proposed leases with costs above market value. We have seen leases allowed to lapse without proper contingency plans, often deliberately so. We have seen submissions returned with detailed concerns, only for those concerns to be ignored or not properly processed. “And we have seen what our own investigators have described as “self-created emergencies” - where normal planning fails, delays are allowed to build up, and then urgency is used to justify bypassing proper scrutiny,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za Edwin Wed, 06/10/2026 - 15:42 0

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