Workers down tools in the backdrop of a dismal 1st quarterly performance

Workers down tools in the backdrop of a dismal 1^st quarterly performance

Across the province employees of the department of public works, roads and transport who are affiliated with NEHAWU, downed tools and arrived at the doorstep of the Legislature to hand over a memorandum of demand to the provincial government.

Among the demands are better working conditions and improved salary scales.  The MEC of the department arrived to address the striking workers, but the workers rejected the MEC and demanded that the premier avail himself to receive the memorandum of demands and address them accordingly.

 Amidst all this the department has reported a dismal performance in their 1^st quarterly report.  According to the report out of a total of 38 planned targets for the 1^st quarter of the 2014/15 financial year, the department only managed to achieve 58% of the targets despite using 24% of the allocated 25% budget for this quarter and having a staff compliment of 96.5%. In the same quarter of the previous financialyear, the department achieved 68% of their set targets.  This  shows a clear decline in the overall performanceof the department and the continuation in their trend of non-delivery.

What particularly concerned the DA in this report was Programme 2: Public works infrastructure,

Programme 3: Transport infrastructure and Programme 5: Community based programme which achieved 38%, 33.3% and 10% respectively.

It is clear that the department will once again fail to achieve its targets by the end of the 2014/15 financial year. These sentiments also echoed by the relevant portfolio committee’s analysis of this departments’ quarterly performance.  Such a situation is indicative of a department that lacks both HR and financial management as well as decisive political leadership.

The DA will monitor the situation closely taking into consideration the collective bargaining agreement between the Trade Union and the Department.