The Department of Public Works says it has reached important milestones in its annual performance targets in the first quarter of the 2014/15 financial year, so far attaining 60% of its 81 listed targets.
The Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) had created over 420,000 work opportunities from a planned target of 262,000 work opportunities.
Seventy-six percent of these job opportunities (about 318,089) were in rural municipalities, where the programme is intended to have maximum impact.
Similarly, about 22,514 properties – against a target of 14,214 – in the Departmental Immoveable Asset Register were populated with the relevant information fields, which make them compliant with the acceptable accounting systems.
The department’s annual target was 56,871 properties to be made compliant with acceptable accounting systems.
The department said the National Asset Register reflects that 95% of all immovable assets of the state had been verified.
The department said it has achieved over 70% of its targets in the Supply Chain Management environment.
Improving delivery on construction projects
MPs were concerned with low expenditure on departmental construction projects, which is having a negative impact on service delivery and job creation.
“Closer monitoring of project implementation is being implemented and contractors are being put on terms to enforce performance, including putting them on mora (legal delay) and executing the department’s rights of charging them with penalties,” the department said.
The department is on track with its turnaround strategy to make poor performance and negative audit outcomes a thing of the past.
