Public Works Delivering Tangible Results

The speech below was delivered by Dean Macpherson MP during today’s State of the Nation Address Debate:

Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly,

President Cyril Ramaphosa,

Honourable Members,

This afternoon, we reflect on the State of our Nation which is one under construction.

But words alone are not enough, and time is not on our side.

For 30 years, promises have been made with little to no results.

When the Democratic Alliance joined the GNU seven months ago, I committed to turning South Africa into a construction site to drive economic growth and job creation, and to use public assets for public good.

What I found in the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure, was an organisation crippled by neglect, inefficiency, and corruption.

Morale was low, and its core mandate—to build infrastructure, create jobs, and ensure public assets serve the people—was failing.

But in just seven months, that story is changing.

We are building a department with a bold vision, with staff that are motivated and where big ideas are embraced.

One of my most important decisions has been to use public assets for public good.

For too long, state-owned properties have stood vacant, attracting crime and decay.

In a major policy shift, we have released public properties for Requests for Proposals, inviting both the public and private sectors to submit ideas.

Soon, we will convert eyesores such as the Barracks in eThekwini into mixed-use developments, where the first new skyscraper will be built in the Durban CBD in 20 years.

In our first round, we will release 31 properties for redevelopment, valued at R1.4 billion.

This is estimated to generate up to R10 billion in private investment, create over 165,000 jobs and generate close to R200 million in rental income for the South African government.

This is what the DA is delivering in the GNU!

In Tshwane, we handed over state-owned land to community projects like the Mamelodi Skatepark after years of delays, demonstrating our commitment to community development.

We are taking decisive action against corruption and mismanagement.

In just seven months, we have launched investigations into failed projects, including the R1 billion Telkom Towers in Tshwane and the R800 million IDT Oxygen tender.

I am taking a zero-tolerance approach to corruption and will hold officials and politicians to account for their roles in these scandals.

This is what the DA is delivering in the GNU!

Through Infrastructure South Africa, we launched the first of its kind project preparation fund worth R180 million to prepare and package infrastructure projects across government.

This first bid window has been completely oversubscribed and is testament to the big reforms we have introduced in just 7 months.

In another first, we have launched the adopt-a-municipality program where we will pilot an infrastructure partnership program with four local municipalities to maximise infrastructure spending and efficiency.

We soon hope to then role this program out across the country.

This is what the DA is delivering in the GNU!

We have started to conduct a skills audit to ensure we have the expertise to execute our mission.

We have declared war on the Construction Mafia, which has held infrastructure projects hostage.

The Durban Declaration, signed between the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure, SAPS, and the KZN Government, is a landmark agreement to dismantle these syndicates.

Reports of construction stoppages are already decreasing.

This is what the DA is delivering in the GNU!

We are securing public property to prevent land invasions, crime, and theft.

Eviction orders have been obtained, including for the Castle of Good Hope, ensuring public assets serve society instead of criminal elements, because

No person has the right to claim public land and buildings as their own.

Despite our progress, some in this House want this department to fail.

While some members in this House seek out paid-for journalists and attempt to spread fake news through AI voice notes and falsified WhatsApps, including ActionSA and the EFF and some members in the ANC.

But we will not be distracted.

We will not be bullied.

We will not back down.

We will not be pressured by false reports, political collusion, or those being investigated for wrongdoing.

The people of South Africa deserve a government that delivers and that is what we will focus on.

Over the next year, we will attract R100 billion in private infrastructure investment, making Infrastructure South Africa the hub of all major projects.

This past week, the National Treasury has issued Public-Private Partnership regulation reform, a tangible step toward achieving our R100 billion private sector funding goal.

The DA will not stop delivering in GNU!

We will launch a Special Projects Unit to fast-track infrastructure projects and revive failed initiatives like the Sarah Baartman Centre for Remembrance.

We will redevelop small harbours, such as the Hout Bay Harbour, into tourism and economic hubs—building the next V&A Waterfront which is set attract tens of billions of rands in investment and can create tens of thousands of jobs.

And, we will finalise reforms to the Expanded Public Works Programme to ensure it leads to permanent employment and skills development after it has been abused by politicians and political parties for too long.

This is what the DA is delivering in the GNU!

In just seven months, we have achieved what others failed to accomplish in decades.

The Department of Public Works & Infrastructure is no longer a department of empty slogans—it is a centre of delivery.

We no longer exist to advance personal interests, but the interests of South Africans that want our country to work and who want to get to work.

Across the country, thousands of public servants in public works are working diligently to build a better South Africa.

This is why, Mr President, the DA will play its part in the GNU to drive reforms in public works and infrastructure to drive economic growth and job creation.

We have injected new energy into this department, refocusing it on service delivery and turning it into an economic and jobs delivery unit.

If this is what we have achieved in 7 months, imagine what we will achieve in a full five-year term.

The GNU depends on the DA to keep delivering for South Africa.

This is why we will continue turning South Africa into a construction site that drives economic growth and opportunity for all.

This is why we will continue to Build South Africa.

Thank you.