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Contract management was one of its weaknesses in all
provinces, Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde told reporters after a meeting of
MECs and ministers in Pretoria.
The problem of incomplete buildings for government
departments had to be addressed urgently.
The department's acting director-general Sam Vukela
explained they had not neglected the issue, but were merely "re-confirming
standards which were already there".
"We know that certain areas may not been performing and
there were extensions that have been given to them (contractors). So this is a
reconfirmation that government officials must implement the (contractual clause
that binds contractors to complete a project in a set time)," Vukela said.
"A contractor that does not comply to contract requirement,
we are going to give them a letter (of notice) and an opportunity to respond,
after which we will facilitate the termination properly."
They would then be blacklisted from future use by the
department.
"We want to ensure that we improve service delivery,
that is the emphasis that we are making."
In her defence, Mahlangu-Nkabinde said she'd been in the
department for six months.
"I couldn't come on day one and just change everything.
I had to make sure that I inform myself, make sure that I speak to my
colleagues. So we have discussed this matter thoroughly and have decided that
as from now this is what we are going to be doing."
Friday's meeting was attended by representatives from the
South African Local Government Association and MECs from all nine provinces.
They resolved to hold an expanded public works programme
summit in October, to assess progress in and speed up job creation. The
programme is a government initiative aimed at providing poverty and income
relief through temporary work.
It was further decided that provinces would from now on make
use of expertise at their disposal, before outsourcing services.
