By Staff Reporter
14/09/2015
President Jacob Zuma briefed the nation on the update of the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission Council (PICC) in Cape Town last week. In his briefing The President said disrupting infrastructure will no longer be regarded as a minor crime or simply as theft or vandalism, it is going to be a serious economic offence.
Cabinet has approved a Bill that has now been submitted to Parliament. The Bill will introduce changes to two laws, the Criminal Procedures Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act. The Bill seeks to amongst other provisions regulate bail in respect of essential infrastructure-related offences and introduce minimum sentences.
“This will help to act against the theft of copper cables and metal from the country’s infrastructure programme which seriously affects the supply of electricity which results in disruptions to train schedules and the supply of water” he said.
Giving feedback on the reports from the PICC, he said the recent Cabinet Lekgotla, identified a number of actions to strengthen the foundation of the Nine Point Plan identified in the State Of The Nation Address in February. In this regard, he said government launched Unit 6 of Medupi power station. In addition, the Kouga wind-farm in the Eastern Cape also has now been completed and was officially opened. The R2 billion Kouga project will provide renewable energy that can power as many as fifty thousand (50 000) houses, adding to the large new energy capacity that solar and wind energy has brought to the grid.
He said the War on Leaks maintenance programme campaign launched in Nelson Mandela Bay will employ 15 000 young people over the next three years to fix leaking pipes and taps, which cost the country R7 billion a year.
“While we can celebrate some of the successes with infrastructure, I requested the PICC Council to concentrate on what we still need to do.
“Some of the areas of work that we need to focus on are the need to ensure the completion of the remaining Medupi power station units and the other two power stations Kusile and Ingula, on deadline. This is important because energy remains a major obstacle to economic growth,” he said.
The President said solutions must still be found to shortage of student accommodation given the frustration of many of our young people nationwide. There is a need to speed up the refurbishment of hospitals and schools and revitalize the programme of installing solar water geysers. The Departments were directed to obtain the funding necessary to move the country towards the target of 1, 4 million geysers in the next four years.
“These are just a few of the projects which will help improve social and economic infrastructure while also providing jobs, skills training and opportunities for small businesses.”
The President said of importance is that the Council meeting introduced a new tone of focus, urgency and dedicated implementation. “We agreed that we need to improve the pace in order to meet the targets we have set ourselves. If we do that, the infrastructure programme will yield the desired results,” he said.
The PICC has identified 120-day period to fast-track work and enable blockages to be overcome. These focus on jobs, education, energy, transport logistics, water and sanitation, housing, broadband, health infrastructure, industrialization and state capacity.
The Council is chaired by the President and brings together Ministers, Premiers and Executive Mayors in one structure to coordinate infrastructure development in the country.
