Gauteng residents are forced to use health facilities that are crumbling, unsafe and not conducive to quality health outcomes due to the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development’s (GDID) poor performance.
At a recent Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) hearing it was revealed that the Department of Health had decided to part ways with GDID and use alternative external infrastructure service providers.
The result of this is that approximately 1200 GDID officials will either be underemployed or will be twiddling their thumbs while earning large salaries. In addition, there is a hole in the GDID’s budget because the Health Department has not provided funds timeously to pay service providers working on its projects under the direction of GDID.
This has resulted in a R700 million shortfall in GDID’s budget, which will impact the ability of the department, as the custodian of government properties, to pay municipalities for rates and taxes.
All of this could have been avoided if Premier Panyaza Lesufi and the MECs for Health and Infrastructure had provided the necessary oversight and direction.
The Gauteng MEC for Infrastructure Development, Jacob Mamabolo, finally admitted that opposition criticism of the department’s poor infrastructure implementation and property management was valid and deserved. This was quite a revelation after years of denial, whitewashing and downright dishonesty.
MEC Mamabolo questions, on legal grounds, the decision by the Health Department to cut ties and has pledged to engage with them to determine the cause of their unhappiness. The reality is that this reaction is too little, too late, especially considering his admission that delivery failures have plagued the department.
Despite Premier Lesufi’s ongoing propaganda about the economic benefits of infrastructure investment, GDID has consistently failed since its inception in 2009. Delayed projects, shoddy workmanship, and mismanaged budgets have become its trademark.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng demands that MEC Mamabolo, conduct a skills audit in this department to ensure that only competent officials are appointed. If this is not done, GDID will continue to fail to deliver on its mandate of managing and maintaining government-owned properties.
A DA-led Gauteng provincial government would establish a multi-stakeholder integrated infrastructure management unit to radically overhaul all planning, monitoring, implementation activities and infrastructure maintenance. Furthermore, we will forge partnerships with the private sector, universities, and civil society to pool resources in repairing and maintaining infrastructure.