DPWI proposed legislation; with Minister and Deputy Minister

Mr Dean Macpherson, Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, said the new draft and proposed legislation that had been before the Department needed to be well researched and crafted to prevent further reviews and delays, and would be aligned with the agenda of the 7 th Parliament in terms of economic growth and job creation. He made the comments when the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure was briefing the Portfolio Committee on outstanding legislation. He said the Department would be holding a strategy policy workshop to see what needed to be tightened up and aligned with the medium-term development plan, followed by public participation. He indicated turning South Africa into an infrastructure site for economic growth and job creation was important. Deputy Minister Sihle Zikalala said it was important to transform the built environment industry, especially for those who were oppressed, such as women, who bore the brunt. The Public Works Bill was the overarching legislation to guide the Department, which would keep the Committee informed on progress with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Bill, the Council for the Built Environment (CBE) Act, and the process for the establishment of Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) as an entity on its own. The review of these pieces of legislation had started during the 5 th and 6 th Parliament, and now they were being expedited. The Department provided the Committee with details of the various pieces of legislation and the progress on the reconfiguration of the Independent Development Trust (IDT). The council of the CBE had recommended that the entity approach the Minister to review the CBE Act and Acts of the CBE professionals. The proposed review was based on some gaps identified in discharging the mandate of the CBE and its councils. Members commented that they did not understand why the Committee would have to review all the pieces of legislation it had dealt with in the past, as the Minister had implied they had not been well-researched and drafted. Members also asked for a definite timeline for the legislative process, and enquired how the Public Works Bill would deal with the overlaps between ISA and the IDT, because there had been a proposal to disband the IDT as it needed more money from the Department.