DPWI/PMTE & Agrément SA 2025/26 Annual Reports

Video Annual Reports 2025/26 The Portfolio Committee convened to evaluate the annual performance reports and financial statements of the Department of Public works and Infrastructure, the Property Management Trading Entity (PMTE), Agrément South Africa (ASA), and the Independent Development Trust (IDT). The discussion on Agrément South Africa (ASA) focused heavily on the entity's underperformance, declining from 81% to 60% in target achievement, and its short-term financial instability, marked by a drop in cash reserves, a R3.55 million deficit, and liabilities exceeding assets. Members questioned why targets related to ecolabelling, green building rating tools, and the Agrément Act review were missed, with ASA attributing these delays to a lack of support, budget allocation, and policy direction from the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. Further intense debate centred on ASA's lack of internal testing facilities, its reliance on external laboratories and applicant-built prototypes, unresolved board disclosure non-compliance, and the write-off of fruitless, wasteful, and irregular expenditure without successful consequence management due to resigned employees. Acting Chairperson Madikizela also questioned whether ASA should remain a Schedule 3A entity given its ongoing decade-long reliance on the department and inability to achieve full self-sustainability. The discussion on the Independent Development Trust (IDT) revolved around its ongoing institutional turnaround, with members acknowledging signs of progress while scrutinising persistent operational and financial weaknesses. The board and CEO were pressed on the IDT's low 45% achievement of predetermined targets, delayed invoice payments to service providers caused by client cash flow issues and late fund transfers from departments like Health, and high vacancy rates, particularly in critical control and risk management positions. Members sharply questioned the fifth consecutive qualified audit opinion, which featured material misstatements, inaccurate accrual records, and an unauthorised R55.9 million expenditure on an unused IT system and its associated licence fees. Discussions also highlighted systemic project oversight issues, the need for robust verification of completed projects, and strained relationships with client departments that had resulted in project terminations and litigation. The discussion on the DPWI and the PMTE addressed the stark disconnect between a high 98% budget expenditure rate and a low 34% success rate in achieving key performance indicators. Committee members raised concerns regarding delayed capital projects, low completion rates for designs and bridges, missing audit trails and supporting documents for Real Estate Management Services, and recurring issues with the non-submission of parliamentary village financial statements. A major point of contention was the staggering R15.83 billion in outstanding debt from unpaid accommodations and municipal services—driven heavily by massive arrears owed by client departments like Correctional Services and Defence—alongside a growing backlog of irregular expenditure under assessment. Officials explained that performance and financial spending could not be scientifically linked due to transfer-heavy budgets. They noted that systemic challenges like client funding constraints, procurement hurdles, and lengthy disciplinary processes were being addressed through ongoing turnaround and asset disposal policy reviews.