The department has established a PIMO in Head Office to provide support and capacity to the technical projects and programme management.

In repositioning itself as the nerve centre for infrastructure delivery in the Province and the endorsement by the executive committee of the Province for Public Works to be Public Works and “Infrastructure”, the department needed this office to carry out the immense load of projects and responsibilities with regards to the infrastructure portfolio.

The office, which has an annual budget of R4 to R6 billion rands, comprises of the construction and building of new works, maintenance and renovations, upgrading, valuation of assets, compilation of the asset register and disposal of redundant assets.

According to Luvuyo Cweya, Acting Chief Director: Buildings, the PIMO is an in-house professional team which assists with capacity within the Buildings Unit as well as the Immovable Property unit of the department. The resources will be procured for a period of three (3) years to assist the department with strategic service delivery is He added that the PIMO will also be involved in skills transfer to the newly recruited staff in those instances where such skills are lacking. It will also assist in the skilling department’s funded graduates when they join the department upon completion of their studies. 

 “In order to effectively drive this over-arching infrastructure delivery programme, a suitably qualified and capable service provider is required to assist and support the department in delivering its mandate at both Regional and Provincial levels”, said Acting Chief Director: Buildings, Luvuyo Cweya. The department will provide infrastructure delivery to the Department of Education (DoE), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture (DSRAC), Department of Social Development (DSD), Department of Transport (DOT) and Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs (DLGTA). 

It is envisaged that work plans will be developed jointly with the relevant client departments and that these work plans will address the particular circumstances and challenges in the Province. The approved work plans will determine the specific tasks that the PIMO will perform.

He alluded that the PIMO will respond to gaps within the Infrastructure delivery portfolio of the department and that the department is at an advanced stage of developing a revised organizational structure. “Once the structure is approved by the Hon MEC, prioritised posts will be submitted to the Provincial Co-ordinating and Monitoring Team (PCMT) for approval to advertise and fill the posts”.

Newsflashes while the process of capacitation is being undertaken.