Minister Sihle Zikalala engagements with Construction Industry Development Board

20 July 2023

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Sihle Zikalala today held a productive meeting with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB).

The meeting was convened to engage with the Construction Industry Development Board on a number of issues linked to the Construction Industry Recovery Plan. The issues that topped the agenda were the technical capacity of the state; transformation of the Construction industry; support for emerging construction companies; and quality of work done by construction companies.

The following decisions were taken:

Minister Zikalala avails Built Environment Sector Professionals to assist in the Joburg City Explosion

Minister for Public Works and Infrastructure has noted the destruction of infrastructure as a result of the Bree Street explosion in the City of Johannesburg. As the custodian of the built environment, the Minister has tasked the Council for the Built Environment to mobilise the sector, professionals, engineers, geologists and other specialists to stand ready to support the initiatives led by the Gauteng Premier and City of Johannesburg leadership that are aimed at restoring normalcy, protecting the public and rebuilding of Infrastructure.

CIDB Amendment Bill

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Sihle Zikalala has committed to accelerating the CIDB Amendment Bill through the proper legal processes within the framework of the Constitution. The Bill is intended to expand the scope of CIDB’s development interventions to the private sector; to provide for improved compliance and enforcement of CIDB prescripts; to expand the scope of the construction industry registers to include other industry participants, such as professional service providers.

Establishment of the Ombudsman Office for the Construction Industry

Minister Sihle Zikalala has committed to support the CIDB towards the establishment of the Ombudsman office for the construction industry. The Ombudsman Office will serve as an independent body for resolving disputes in the construction industry.

The Ombudsman Office will attend to matters of emerging contractor abuse, transformation, procurement practices among others.

Procurement Bill

The Minister has directed the CIDB Board to harness the support of the Department to ensure that the development of the construction industry is enhanced through the National Procurement Bill. It is of primary importance that the National

Procurement Bill addresses the unique procurement requirement related to infrastructure and reflects CIDB’s experience as a leader in this space. The input will be submitted to the National Treasury for consideration in the finalisation of the National

Procurement Bill.

Development of Women and Youth in construction: The B.U.I.L.D Programme

Minister Zikalala supported the B.U.I.L.D Programme for the development of the emerging sector and required that the rollout is accelerated. The recognition of women in construction was welcomed and the Minister encouraged the CIDB to expand the development interventions to include youth in construction. Minister advised the CIDB to channel development interventions at CIDB Grades 1 to 6 as this which will have maximum impact.

Poor performance of contractors – CIDB urged to re-look at its Accreditation process

Minister Zikalala highlighted the problem of stalled infrastructure projects due to poor performance of contractors and directed the CIDB to implement processes and assess registration requirements to deal with this matter. Contractors that offer poor quality work or those that are involved in corruption need to be removed from the CIDB Register of Contractors. Minister Zikalala is of the view that the culture of non-performance by contractors in both public and private projects must be addressed.

The Minister raised concerns that some of the companies hold the registration certificate from the CIDB but are not qualified to undertake infrastructure work. The Minister implored CIDB to shift focus in the accreditation process to take into account the capability of the contractors to undertake the work at each CIDB grading level.

Collusion within the built environment sector

The Minister has directed the CIDB to produce a report that gives an update on the collusion within the construction industry. This should cover how the sanctions meted out to companies that were involved in the 2010 construction of stadiums and the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project have been implemented. This should cover the issues of the Tirisano Fund intended to support emerging contractors. The report will also establish the extent of collusion and how far is this a norm to date.

Vandalism of Infrastructure

The Minister has raised concerns about the spate of vandalism of infrastructure especially linked to the Scrap Metal Industry. Minister Zikalala indicated that that there were short-term interventions adopted at cabinet level to address the matter, but that more permanent solutions are required. Minister Zikalala will meet the Ministry of Economic Development on solutions and way forward on this matter.

Poor spending by municipalities on Infrastructure

Minister Zikalala has also raised concerns on poor performance on municipal capital expenditure. The Minister noted that for the 2021/22 financial, the total underspending by Municipalities increased to around R19,7billion. 226 out of the 257 municipalities spent less than 40% of their budgets. Underspending also affects all tiers of government and a key focus for the CIDB must be on improving the technical capability of the public sector to spend their budgets and rollout infrastructure projects.

Maintenance of Infrastructure

The meeting also focused on the operations and maintenance of infrastructure. The meeting resolved to elevate the issues for the proactive maintenance of infrastructure which may help avert disasters. What was highlighted was the need to integrate information across government on state property.

Integration of Work Across the DPWI Entities

The Minister directed the CIDB to step up the development of the construction industry, working in an integrated manner across all the public entities reporting to the Department. The issues highlighted were skills development; procurement reform; alternate building material and technologies implemented on infrastructure projects; and promotion of social facilitation on all infrastructure projects so that communities are involved and site disruption is minimised.

Construction Industry Recovery Plan (CIRP)

The Construction Industry Recovery Plan developed by the Department with the support of the CIDB will be taken through the cabinet for approval processes and will serve as a guideline for industry development, in support of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, National Development Plan and the Infrastructure Development Plan.

Issued by Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, 21 July 2023