R7.6bn public works budget focus on five key priorities
Top of the list is intensifying the fight against corruption.
The country's infrastructure has deteriorated from years of underfunding, and to accelerate delivery and reform, the Expanded Public Works Programme will play a crucial role.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
12 hours ago
- IOL News
Why Parliament is hesitant to spend R39m on the dome's furnishing
Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has put his foot down on spending too much on the internal fittings for the dome tent. Image: File The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) has requested more time to finalise the designs for the internal fitting of the dome that is used as an alternative venue for the sitting of Parliament. This comes after the department and Parliament officials met last month to review the scope and cost of internal fitting to be installed in the dome. 'The review includes omission of three committee rooms with their fittings, omission of the suspended ceilings, reduction of dry walling and the raised floor area among other things,' reads the report containing responses prepared for the Joint Standing Committee on Financial Management of Parliament. The dome, erected earlier this year, has not been in use since May to allow installation of internal fittings that are scheduled to be completed in September. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The department has estimated the scope and specifications for the internal fit-out of the dome at R39 822 957. The dome is situated on a parking lot across Parliament on the corner of Roeland and Plein Streets in Cape Town. The report said once the fitting were completed, the dome will boast a 500-seater chamber and a 280-seater public gallery. There will be a reduced raised floor to cover the chamber and public gallery footprint only, three holding rooms and ablution facilities as well as reliable power supply, internal lighting and plug points for the AV and Broadcasting equipment. Public Works and Infrastructure minister Dan Macpherson said his department has spent R6 277 480 on the transportation and set up of the dome. Macpherson has put his foot down on spending too much on the internal fittings for the dome tent. 'The estimate cost for the upgrading and furnishing of the dome for it to be functional for Parliament's business was R39 822 957.81, which is something that I completely reject. 'While this figure includes the purchasing of conference tables, chairs and covers, HVAC, lighting, partitions, generators and an electrical sub-station, we cannot expect South Africans to foot the bill of such proportions.' Macpherson said he was cognisant of the issues MPs raised in relation to the first iteration of the dome, particularly the sound system and acoustics. 'However, due to the dome essentially being a tent, it will never be as perfect as a brick-and-mortar structure. As such, there comes a point where additions to the structure will only yield marginal improvement,' he said. Macpherson said he has met national Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza and agreed that officials should meet in order to discuss the bare minimum needed in order for the dome to function properly without inflating the costs to exorbitant levels. While Parliament is battling to find a venue for physical sittings, the City of Cape Town deemed it expensive and uncomfortable, Parliament has proposed three options to sittings for special events. One of the options is hybrid meetings that will not incur additional costs as MPs have allowance for data. 'The downside of this option is that some members may face connectivity challenges, and it does not cater for special events such as State of the Nation Address and the Budget Speech.' The second option is hybrid meetings with the hiring of venues for special events. The report to joint committee states that hybrid meetings with planned venue hire for special events was projected to cost R33.8 m for venues, and R 14.2m for AV and broadcasting equipment. 'This option has predictability, but the downside is that it has high expenditure on hiring and will not yield any assets for long-term ownership and usage,' read the reports. The third option is the use of the dome after completion of internal fit-out. 'The advantage of this option is that DPWI will own the equipment in the long term.' The report said while the completion date of January 2026 was presented by DPWI, the contractual completion date will only be known once the tender was awarded. Parliament stated that the department will advise on the feasibility of the use of the dome after the rebuilding project is complete and that the AV and Broadcasting equipment will be used in Parliament buildings once the dome is decommissioned.
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
ActionSA seeks parliamentary investigation into DA MP Macpherson's comments
ActionSA MP Alan Beesley calls for action against Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson for allegedly making racist remarks against their supporters. Image: National Assembly Archives ActionSA says it has approached Parliament to investigate DA's KwaZulu-Natal chairperson, Dean Macpherson, for denigrating its supporters as 'pharas', the phrase used to refer to worthless or drug-addicted people. In a statement issued on Thursday, ActionSA MP Alan Beesley said his party wrote to the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests requesting an investigation into Macpherson in his capacity as the DA MP and Public Works and Infrastructure Minister. Macpherson referred to ActionSA supporters as pharas outside the Pietermaritzburg High Court on July 24 during the hearing of legal action, which the DA and ActionSA jointly launched against eThekwini Municipality's failure to address the city's sewerage problems. This reporter has a video of Macpherson addressing DA members in the presence of their provincial leader, Francois Rodgers. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ During an interview with this reporter, Macpherson repeated the same word, which translates to hobos. Pharas is a shortened version of the Zulu word amaphara, which means hobos, street beggars, and drug addicts. 'These terms, directed at a group of predominantly black ActionSA supporters, are not only deeply offensive but, in the context of our country's painful history, cannot be divorced from their racially charged and dehumanising connotations,' said Beesley. He said it was unethical for Macpherson, as DA's senior leader, MP, and minister, to 'resort to such racist and inflammatory rhetoric'. 'This kind of conduct is fundamentally incompatible with the values enshrined in the Constitution and the responsibilities of elected public officials. 'Despite ActionSA's public call on 28 July 2025 for an immediate apology, Minister Macpherson has refused to retract his remarks or offer any sign of remorse for the harm caused,' said Beesley. In the video, Macpherson is heard saying: 'There is a smallanyana (little) party, (referring to ActionSA), they just brought up some people and we don't know who they are since they are paras, they gave them some green T-shirts. 'When you asked which party (they belong to), they said 'angazi' (I don't know), 'I am just here for one meal and one drink', and they were here for just singing and dancing.' Beesley called for the Ethics Committee to act against Macpherson to preserve Parliament's dignity, 'but more importantly, to affirm the fight against racism in South Africa'. 'We have therefore called on the Ethics Committee to take decisive action against this errant minister and at the very least ensure that he issues a written public apology to ActionSA supporters and to the people of South Africa at large,' he said. The animosity between the two parties was laid bare outside the court, where their supporters were there to support the court action. The DA supporters who carried placards picketed against the eThekwini Municipality as their party had been granted the right to do so. The ActionSA's provincial leader, Zwakele Mncwango, alleged that Macpherson had approached the police to disperse his party members because their party had not applied for picketing. Mncwango said ActionSA members were not picketing when they were approached by police, adding that police stopped removing ActionSA supporters after he and Rodgers intervened. In response to questions sent by this reporter, Macpherson described ActionSA as 'nothing other than an attention-seeking organisation with dubious motives'. He said ActionSA seemed to be always working on distracting him whenever he fights corruption, for reasons he did not understand. 'It was in January of this year that they called for me to be suspended after they tried to push claims that I bribed journalists in relation to the exposes being written about the IDT (Independent Development Trust), and now they come up with bogus claims of racism, just as we have concluded the investigation into IDT. 'Their agenda is very clear: to attack and discredit me so that I back off investigating corruption and maladministration in the department,' said Macpherson.
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Public Works makes strides in reducing rental payments owed to landlords
Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson says his department has put in controls that were monitored daily and were aimed to improve the functioning of their payment systems. Image: Henk Kruger / Independent Newspapers Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson said his department has managed to reduce to R20 million outstanding rentals owed to landlords that dated back three months ago. Macpherson said the department has put controls that are monitored daily and is looking at systems to improve the functioning of its payment systems. 'As at 6 June 2025, the outstanding rental amount is R2,540,382.42 (0.5%) and R19,897,707.26 (4.1%) for April and May, respectively,' he said. Macpherson was responding to parliamentary questions from Build One South African leader Mmusi Maimane, who enquired about the Information and Communication Technology outages that affected the ability of the Property Management Trading Entity to process rental payments to landlords in April. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Maimane enquired about the current status of rental payments, the total number of landlords that remained, the total monetary value of outstanding rental payments, and steps his department has taken to ensure that such delays do not recur. Macpherson said there were 1,991 leases for 1,274 landlords valued at R484,425,687.62 in the lease administration system and the payment system for April rental payments as of June 6. 'Forty-four leases (2.2%) affecting 26 landlords (2%) amounting to R2,540,382.42 (0.5%) failed Central Supplier Database (CSD) verification and therefore were not paid.' He also said there had been 1,995 leases for 1,269 landlords valued at R483,952,863.48 for May. At least 89 leases (4.5%) affecting 75 landlords (5.9%), amounting to R19,897,707.26 (4.1%) were not verified and were not paid. Macpherson said the payment system was still processing the June rental payments. 'The outstanding rental payments for April 2025 are 44 leases (2.2%) affecting 26 landlords (2%). The outstanding lease payments for May are 89 leases (4.5%) affecting 75 landlords (5.9%),' he said. 'It must be noted that the non-payment of transactions submitted on the payment system is primarily due to landlords not being compliant with CSD. In addition, 33 CSD non-compliant landlords from April are included in the May figure.' Meanwhile, the Independent Development Trust (IDT) has collected R882 million in payments in just three months from 15 departments that owed for infrastructure projects it implemented on their behalf. 'The IDT has been able to collect R882,374,561 between 01 April 2025 and 30 June 2025,' Macpherson said. The entity has paid a total of 1,366 service providers to the tune of R648,167,277. 'As at 30 June 2025, 790 service providers remained unpaid an amount of R1,394,036,545. The variance in the amount is due to additional invoices that would have been received between 01 April 2025 and 30 June 2025,' he said. Macpherson was responding to ActionSA MP Malebo Patricia Kobe, who enquired about the department's obligation to pay contractors after receiving money due from client departments. The IDT had informed the portfolio committee in June that it was owed R1.2 billion by client departments. It informed Parliament four months ago that it had been unable to pay service providers due to delays in payment by client departments. The entity has incurred R47m in total expenditure on legal costs and owed creditors for more than 12,000 invoices that could not be paid within the 30-day deadline as of the end of March last year.
