(The following debate was delivered during a Sitting of the KZN Legislature held today)
KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) Public Works and Infrastructure portfolio committee may not always make headlines, but it is amongst the most important work undertaken within the provincial Legislature.
APP/Budget
KZN’s Legislature has three critical responsibilities: lawmaking, ensuring meaningful public participation and oversight. It is within portfolio committees where these responsibilities become reality. During the year under review, the portfolio committee fulfilled this mandate by scrutinising the DPWI Annual Performance Plan (APP), budget, quarterly performance reports and annual report. Members were supported by detailed research and budget analysis before every engagement, ensuring informed, constructive and evidence-based oversight rather than simply political point-scoring.
But reports are never enough. Real oversight happens on the ground when we speak directly to communities, ask difficult questions and when departments know they will be held accountable for every rand spent.
Oversight
The portfolio committee visited projects across KZN, including Mosvold Hospital in uMkhanyakude, the Enyokeni Royal Palace precinct, Nkonjeni Hospital in Zululand, the Ndwedwe Emergency Medical Services (EMS) base, Newcastle Provincial Hospital and Celani Primary School projects in Amajuba.
These visits demonstrated that the DPWI is not an isolated department – it is the department that enables every other department to deliver. Without functioning infrastructure, every single government department suffers. Public Works is the foundation upon which effective government is built.
A clear example of why oversight is indispensable was at Nkonjeni Hospital where the committee uncovered unacceptable delays, poor workmanship and underperformance by the appointed contractor. These issues were immediately escalated to the DPWI resulting in increased project monitoring. When improvement failed to materialise, the department made the difficult but necessary decision to terminate the contractor’s appointment. That is oversight producing real consequences.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has always believed that oversight is not about finding fault for its own sake. It is about ensuring that government delivers, ensuring that every taxpayer’s rand produces value and protecting communities from waste, delays and poor workmanship.
Public engagement
Another important achievement during the year was the committee’s uMshwathi stakeholder engagement where the public was invited to interrogate and provide input into the DPWI’s draft APP and budget.
This is how democracy should work. Public participation must never become a tick-box exercise. Communities often know long before government does where projects have stalled, contractors have disappeared and infrastructure has begun to fail. When they are heard, government makes better decisions.
The DA will continue advocating for broader public participation, including greater use of digital platforms, regular community feedback sessions after oversights and stronger mechanisms to report stalled infrastructure projects directly to the committee.
Work to be done
While this report reflects positive work by the committee, there is still much to be done and we must ensure that;
• Infrastructure projects do not experience delays.
• Maintenance is continuous basis instead of when it becomes critical.
• Contractors deliver projects to communities timeously, within budget and to the right standard and;
• Contractor payments are not delayed, creating cash-flow challenges that affect project delivery. The committee has recognised that resolving payment delays must remain a priority going forward.
The DA proposes the following practical solutions;
• Infrastructure projects must be tracked through transparent, publicly available performance dashboards so that communities can monitor progress alongside government
• Departments must strengthen consequence management. Contractors who consistently underperform should not move from one government project to the next
• Preventative maintenance must become a priority instead of waiting until buildings reach crisis point. Maintaining infrastructure is always more affordable than rebuilding it
• Departments must improve coordination across government so that implementing agents are paid timeously, ensuring contractors can complete projects without unnecessary disruption and;
• Oversight must continue to evolve. Every recommendation made by the committee should be followed by measurable actions, clear deadlines and regular reporting back to ensure commitments become results.
KZN’s Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) has shown that when different parties place people ahead of politics, government can become more responsive and more accountable.
The DA is proud to be part of a government that believes oversight is not an obstacle to delivery – it is the reason delivery improves. We believe accountability builds public trust, that transparency improves performance and that listening to communities produces better government.
This committee’s work has demonstrated that oversight, when properly conducted, protects public money, improves infrastructure and ultimately improves the lives of KZN’s people. That is what good governance looks like and what responsible oversight delivers – and that is exactly what the DA will continue fighting for.