Zuma says Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission is making progress

Zuma says Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission is making progress

The Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission (PICC) is making progress in dealing with development in the country, President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday.

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The Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission (PICC) is making progress in dealing with development in the country, President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday.
 
"We have had lots of discussions and we are certain that we are making progress," he told reporters at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
 
"It [the PICC] is an important link point in terms of government."
 
He said the PICC had met on Wednesday to discuss its management committee progress report.
 
"It was a very comprehensive report indeed... on what is happening with regards to specific projects at whatever stage they are," he said.
 
"The important thing about this particular commission is that it is one of the mechanisms that puts together all tiers of government... to discuss issues from a national collective point of view."
 
Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel, who chairs the PICC secretariat, said the report detailed information regarding spending for infrastructure development, skills development and the "30-year project pipeline".
 
"Infrastructure is the kind of thing that if you don't plan now for the next 30 years, and each year you are simply trying to catch up, then you will not be capable of launching your major programs," he said.
 
"This is an attempt to break beyond one electoral cycle and plant the seeds of long-term growth and prosperity."
 
He said the current administration was "on course" to break the R1 trillion spending barrier before the end of its administration.
 
"By the end of March next year, over the five-year period, the administration would have managed projects across the three spheres of government where spending... would be in the order of a R1 trillion," Patel said.
 
"That is double the amount of money that was spent in the previous five years."
 
He said underspending in municipalities had also been discussed, as had the lag in implementation on that level of government for the first part of the financial year.
 
"Council has asked us to put together a piece of work to change the model so that we have more effective implementation," Patel said.
 
"This means looking at multi-year capital budgets."
 
He said innovative and "alternative" building technologies were being considered.
 
This entailed using new building materials which would reduce the cost of building for social infrastructure, like schools.
 
He said the recent findings of the Competition Commission on collusion in the construction industry were also discussed.
 
-Sapa 

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