SIYABONGA SITHOLE
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has decried the R1,5 billion Department of Public Works bill spent on consultants between the 2019/20 and 2022/23 financial years.
According to the DA member of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and public works Tim Brauteseth, the Department of Public Works, under minister Patricia De Lille, is the worst affected department when it comes to hiring consultants.
He said the extent of the spending on consultants impacts service delivery due to time delays on projects. This was revealed to him through a written reply to a written question submitted by the DA in August.
Brauteseth said the use of consultants served to expose the department's lack of depth in qualified personnel to handle the workload and delivery of services.
"The response confirms that the excessive use of consultants is due to lack of sufficient capacity and that the department continues appoint private sector consultants to assist with implementation of construction projects.
"Whilst work of these consultants is not in question, the DA questions the attitude of the department when scores of graduates leave university and cannot find work,“ Brauteseth said.
The DA said, instead of building careers of young people, the department seems more interested in building bank balances of consulting firms at the expense of R1.4 billion to an already strained fiscus, which in turn adds significant time delays due to extensive procurement processes.
"As has been seen with prestige projects and border washing lines of the past, Minister Patricia De Lille seems content to spend without constraint and foresight. South Africa desperately requires a capable state, and that begins with building a competent public service compete with qualifications to do the work," he said.
Brauteseth added that the minister should instead focus on building capacity inside the department and stop contributing to the dealing of projects while private consultants compete for space through laborious procurement procedures.
Early this year, it was revealed that the department of public works is in chaos.
It was also revealed that police stations, courts, prisons, and other buildings belonging to the department were in a state of disrepair with maintenance and payments of rent budgeted for through treasury and handed over to the department were not being used wisely.
The Star