New public works minister aims to keeps tight hold on purse strings

Newly appointed public works & infrastructure minister, the DA's Dean Macpherson, has put his foot down about procuring new houses and offices for members of the new cabinet and parliament. 

Furthermore, there will be no spending on existing properties and members of the executive and MPs will have to make do with existing furniture, the minister says.

The prime consideration he said was the tight fiscal situation facing the government and the need to be financially prudent. 

In the past there have been scandals about leaders of state and academic institutions refurnishing their houses at huge expense to the state running into millions of rand. 

Macpherson said his department was facilitating the smooth ushering-in of both the executive and MPs by providing work offices and residential accommodation.

“Allocations will be made from the existing state properties and no requests for new procurement will be entertained. Similarly no new office rentals will be entertained,” he said.

“As the department responsible for the accommodation of the executive and members of parliament, we will house all members from the available properties of the state. We will not rent or lease any accommodation or office space. Those days are over.

“The department has confirmed to me there is enough available stock to meet the needs of both the executive and members of parliament” he said. 

“The tight fiscal position of the state is a paramount consideration for this decision. Our economy cannot accommodate requests for the procurement of new accommodation. Moreover, we have listened to the message of the citizens about being prudent with the public purse and cut down on perks and invest more in creating jobs and growing the economy.

“My number one priority is to invest in infrastructure and turn SA into a massive construction site under the theme LetsBuildSA.”

The 39-year old minister, who is also the DA provincial chair in KwaZulu-Natal, has met the deputy minister Sihle Zikalala and director-general Sifiso Mdakane to discuss critical issues within the department. Macpherson also plans to meet more stakeholders in the built environment and infrastructure sector.

There are three parliamentary villages in Cape Town that house MPs — Acacia Park, Pelican Park and Laboria Park. 

According to a report by the parliamentary monitoring group on a meeting of parliament’s public works and infrastructure committee in June last year, departmental officials briefed MPs on the state of accommodation in these villages and gave a commitment to improving the quality of residential units and infrastructure. The presentation stated more than R500m over the next five years would be allocated for the upkeep and maintenance of the parliamentary villages and other facilities in Cape Town. 

An example of excessive expenditure on furnishings by a leader in an academic institution was reported last year. A scandal erupted over the expenditure by Unisa vice-chancellor Puleng LenkaBula on her house and furnishings. 

An independent assessor report commissioned by former higher education minister Blade Nzimande revealed the vice-chancellor flouted the tender process when she splurged more than R3m on her residence’s upgrade, while only a R1m upgrade was approved.

An amount of R74,000 was spent on air conditioning, R49,000 on the replacement of a borehole, R285,228 on the procurement of curtains, R19,000 on a glass gas hob, and more than R3,000 on the procurement of a mattress protector. In addition vacuum cleaner training cost R8,000 and painting items R220,685. 

ensorl@businesslive.co.za