Business Day
*New minister has his work(s) cut out * /Nxesi sipping gingerly from what has been a poisoned chalice / *Setumo Stone, Business Day, Johannesburg, 4 November 2011*Fixing the Department of Public Works is not a job for the faint-hearted. Apparently well aware of this, the new minister, Thulas Nxesi, says he is taking a "guarded" approach.
Public works is increasingly proving to be a poisoned chalice, responsible for the political downfall of two ministers. Mr Nxesi is the department's third political head in the space of two years.
The public protector found Mr Nxesi's predecessor, Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde, guilty of maladministration.
However, the department has had other problems. The auditor-general gave it another disclaimer, while a random check by the Special Investigating Unit on the department in Gauteng found compliance issues in all leases checked.
"Once you see a collapse and these problems --- these negative audits, disclaimers, qualifications --- for a number of years, it means there is something wrong with the very design of the organisation," Mr Nxesi says.
The Department of Public Works, described as the handyman of the state, is mandated to manage the government's accommodation requirements and render advice to client departments, including the acquisition, maintenance and disposal of assets.
It plays a key role in job creation and skills development, with its flagship Expanded Public Works Programme projected to create 4,5-million jobs by 2014. The department was allocated a budget of R7,8bn for 2011-12.
Democratic Alliance spokesman Winston Rabotapi says the biggest problem at public works is that each new minister created their own team of loyalists within the department. "When that minister is replaced, the remaining cabal members would then work against the new political head," he says.
Mr Nxesi said he was "guarded" on his responses to the media about his plans.
"I'm aware of the many challenges that public works has but I'm not about to be led by the media in formulating responses and strategies," he said in his address to delegates at the second Expanded Public Works Programme Summit in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
The occasion was Mr Nxesi's first public speech since occupying office and could have provided insight into his plans.
"I promised the president and I'm promising the nation that in dealing with the problems I'm going to be honest and open. That is what the trade union movement taught me," said the former general secretary of the South African Democratic Teachers Union.
Soon after Mr Nxesi's address, acting public works director-general Mandla Mabuza quipped: "It is unusual for a minister who is hardly one week in office to give such a powerful speech."
And the delegates gave another round of applause. The appointment of the new minister naturally comes with high expectations.However, the problem is not that Mr Nxesi is cagey on his next move in fixing the department. Rather, it is that his answers were not satisfactory.
There is very little indication of how he plans to proceed and yet the public domain is replete with many unanswered questions relating to the department, including whether the proposed multimillion-rand permanent home of the Pan African Parliament will, in fact, take off, funded by taxpayers.
On Tuesday, the portfolio committee on public works summoned public works' executive management to provide information on the remedial steps they planned in light of the public protector's findings.
Chairwoman of the committee Manana Mabuza said she was not at liberty to disclose the discussions with the minister and his team. However, it seems likely Mr Nxesi requested more time to investigate the shortcomings in the department.
But how much time does Mr Nxesi have at his disposal? In his own words: "It cannot be that every time there is a new minister we start at ground zero."
Critics suggest that problems in the department have not been helped by the lack of a handover period.
Ms Mahlangu-Nkabinde blamed some of her most pressing challenges on the lack of such a process when her predecessor, Geoff Doidge, left around this time last year.
It would appear that Mr Nxesi is starting on a similar footing. "I have said that I'm engaged in a listening campaign," he said this week. "What I can do at this point is to consult, read and make investigations to begin to identify the issues and priorities."
He said the first point was also organisational renewal, "so that you have the right people to lead the department with the right skills, or you tell those who are already there to be accountable and perform".
However, Mr Rabotapi says it is unsatisfactory that the minister has opted to study the situation instead of taking action. He said the department needed a new director from "outside" and there were a lot of acting positions. "People do not give their full potential because their positions are uncertain."
The department placed too many projects on tenders as individuals were pushing their "personal ambitions".
Mr Nxesi also questioned why the department was putting everything on tender. "These tenders are bringing problems and even divisions amongst ourselves," he said. "Which country has ever been developed through tenders?"
In 2009, President Jacob Zuma's critics afforded him 100 days to settle in the new office and find his feet. Maybe Mr Nxesi deserves his 100 days.
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