Tabling of the Vote 10 Adjusted Estimates of Provincial Expenditure 2018

Speech by Donald Grant, Minister of Transport and Public Works

• Honourable Speaker/ Deputy Speaker
• Honourable Premier and Cabinet Colleagues
• Honourable Members of the WCPP
• Officials of the WCG

It is my pleasure to present the adjusted estimates for the Department of Transport and Public Works for 2018.

I am very conscious that it is late on a Friday afternoon and that this is the 14th vote of this nature tabled over two days. For all of us it has been a marathon session. I now understand why it is a centuries’ old tradition in the United Kingdom House of Commons that the Chancellor of the Exchequer [the Minister of Finance] is allowed to consume an alcoholic beverage while delivering the budget. I hasten to add that this is a privilege afforded to the Chancellor only and to no other Member of the House.

Those of you who are historically curious may be interested that in the role of Chancellor Winston Churchill chose brandy, Selwyn Lloyd drank whisky and Hugh Gaitskell opted for orange juice and rum. The availability of these sorts of beverages may well have been the cause of the longest budget speech on record – the four-hour forty-five minutes speech by William Gladstone in 1853.

By contrast, I intend to be brief and to abstain.

Members of this House will know that section 31 of the Public Finance Management Act deals with Provincial Adjustments Budgets and what they provide for. The details of these provisions are set out clearly in the introduction to the Adjusted Estimates Blue Bbook currently before this House. These provisions include the shifting of funds between and within votes, the utilisation of savings and roll-overs of unspent funds from a preceding year. These are all important tools in the management of various circumstances and events stipulated in the Public Finance Management Act. Given the wide-ranging nature and scope of the services provided by my Department and its support to most of the other Departments and Entities in this Province, it is essential to be able to accommodate and account for a range of adjustments which will inevitably occur in any financial year.

In his speech in this House on 22 November, Minister Meyer confirmed this Government’s commitment to infrastructure led growth – a commitment in which my department has to play a key role, particularly in a climate in which the overall construction industry is under stress. I am proud of the way in which the DTPW continues to ensure a quality built environment while also pushing the boundaries of technology as a multiplier. This is reflected, for instance,  in the development and the implementation of our large data Integrated Transport HUB and in the important reduction in water and energy consumption in government facilities – outperforming the private sector significantly. This latter achievement is clearly recorded in the 7th edition of the Property Efficiency Report – the only report of its kind produced in government in South Africa.

All of this has taken place against the backdrop of a 6th successive clean audit by a department which delivers 65% of its budget through supply chain management.

Speaker, the Main Appropriation of Vote 10 increases by R139 581 000 to R7 869 021 000 from an amount of R7 729 440 000 – an increase of 1.8%. The increase is made up of the following:

• Roll-overs from the previous financial year R23 819m
• Revenue retention from previous financial years, mainly related to increased own revenue from over collected motor vehicle licence fees R71,872m
• Provincial Asset Financing Reserve R43,890m

Speaker, it is not my intention to deal in detail with all the allocations and adjustments.. These are set out in the Adjusted Estimates of Provincial Expenditure for 2018 as tabled. I do, however, believe it is important to highlight some of these, as follows:

Roll-overs – R23 810 000

Programme 2: Public Works Infrastructure – R17 771 000

R4 700 000 to secure 8 Social Development Child and Youth Care facilities and 10 Western Cape Government Command and Control facilities in terms of the Water Business Continuity Plan.

R5 683 000 to finalise construction of the dormitory at the Child and Youth Care Centre in Clanwilliam.

R4 000 000 to provide for increased property rates tariffs

R3 388 000 for alternative infrastructure delivery mechanisms for Health and Education.

Programme 3: Transport Infrastructure – R6 048 000

R6 048 000 for financial assistance to the Swartland Municipality for a bridge project in Malmesbury.

Provincial Asset Financing Reserve – R43 890 000

Programme 2: Public Works Infrastructure – R43 890 000

R11 423 000 for implementing Phase 2 of the construction of an office block in Maitland for GMT.

R32 467 000 for the acquisition of 6 properties relating to Health facilities, 6 relating to Education facilities and one for a shared service centre in Caledon.

Self – financing Expenditure [Revenue Retention 2017/18] – R71 872 000 - including

Programme 2: Public Works Infrastructure – R15 660 000

R12 500 000 for scheduled maintenance at general provincial buildings

R3 160 000 for legal fees and for machinery and equipment for new staff

Programme 3: Transport Infrastructure – R3 781 000                                         

R3 781 000 for the Garden Route District Municipality to respond to the fire damage at Knysna during June 2017.                                                                                                  

Programme 4: Transport Operations – R12 666 000                               

R9 000 000 for the further development of the Integrated Transport Hub for enhancing reporting capability through the innovative use of information..

R3 666 000 for the protection and remedial intervention of the Glencairn Beach rail infrastructure.                      

Programme 5: Transport Regulation – R38 765 000                                                        

R445 000 for claims against the state and vehicle accident loss.    

R3 038 000 for the provision of breathalyzer equipment.

R5 282 000 for in-vehicle technology for traffic officers, scholar patrol uniforms and the development of a Law Administration System.

R30 000 000 for agency fees payable to Municipalities in respect of the collection of motor vehicle licence fees.   

In closing, Speaker, in tabling these Adjustment Estimates I should like to record my thanks to the Chair and other members of the Standing Committee on Transport and Public Works, my Cabinet colleagues and to the HOD and her staff, some of whom are present here today.

Media Enquiries: 

Siphesihle Dube Spokesperson for the Minister of Transport and Public Works, Donald Grant Cell: 084 233 3811 Tel: 021 483 8954 Fax: 021 483 2217 E-mail: Siphesihle.Dube@westerncape.gov.za