Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
15 October 2024 | 14:30 CAT
3 min read

In his first 100 days as Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson has initiated reforms aimed at transforming South Africa into a “construction site” and ensuring that public assets serve the public good.

The department highlighted its key measures, which include strengthening Infrastructure South Africa as a single entry point for priority infrastructure projects, addressing corruption through investigations into failed projects, and working closely with municipalities to repurpose state-owned properties.

Minister Dean Macpherson told Radio Islam that his time in office has been immensely rewarding, filled with hard work and a deep dive into the workings of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. He emphasised the importance of understanding the department’s challenges to effectively implement the necessary reforms and drive positive change in the sector.

“We are looking at how we can focus the DPWI to become a key economic driver in the country; these things don’t happen overnight, and it will take some time to change 30 years of bad governance. It has been well-documented how the department has been unable to deliver projects on time and on budget, so we are reviewing how those systems work, what the failures are that lead up to these incomplete projects and starting to build out new mechanisms that allow us to deliver more efficiently and effectively,” he said.

Minister Macpherson stated that while it’s easy to spend years identifying problems, his focus is now on finding solutions.

“We have uncovered problematic things in the department, such as the Telkom towers being a waste of a Billion Rand, money stolen out of bank accounts, and overpayment of projects. We are working on a new framework for how the department will operate and what I expect from them over the next five years,” he said.

He highlighted the need to ensure efficiency in project delivery because poor project management is a major issue, and it often contributes to corruption.

“When you have little transparency, it allows for people to take advantage of the situation. When you give out tenders to people who cannot deliver projects that cause problems, it is a real systems issue we have to get right in this department,” he said.

Minister Macpherson and the acting head of Infrastructure SA, Mameetse Masemola, have now launched a project bid window aimed at creating jobs and boosting economic growth. The initiative invites applications from government departments, municipalities, and private sector projects for support, focusing on infrastructure projects valued over R1 billion.

This move aims to address underinvestment in infrastructure by ensuring projects are better prepared for implementation. The sectors considered include energy, water, sanitation, transport, and human settlements, with a focus on attracting private sector involvement.

“We spent enough time diagnosing; it is now time to start building those systems,” he said.

Following the next 100 days, he anticipates that he will have a clearer understanding of where they need to improve systems.

“We will start to see good outcomes as we embark on trial phases in a number of areas, and we must be able to see what works and what doesn’t through experiments; then we can present a restructured view of what the DPWI looks like so South Africans can see the transparency that builds trust so they are able to believe in the work we do,” he said.

LISTEN to the full interview with Ml Sulaimaan Ravat and Dean Macpherson, Minister of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, here.