Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi this week suggested that had the Department of Public Works (DPW) maintained an adequate complement of professional and technical staff, much of the irregularities, scandals and overspending witnessed in the past could have been prevented.

Nxesi, citing lease and construction project scandals and the controversial Nkandla security upgrade, said the department suffered poor management control, a lack of technical capacity and corruption, and was unable to deflect and manage challenges and weaknesses effectively.

“The Nkandla security upgrade was just one more example of the systemic crisis that was Public Works,” he explained.

The R206-million security upgrade of President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead, in KwaZulu-Natal, attracted an outpouring of criticism for its escalating cost and the alleged use of taxpayers’ money to pay for private renovations, with many reports emerging on irregularities in the appointment of contractors and procurement of goods for the project.

However, with the assistance of the special investigating unit and the Auditor-General, the DPW was investigating those involved and was preparing disciplinary and other measures “to hold people to account”.

“In the case of lease fraud in the Johannesburg region, the officials concerned were dismissed and the landlord is in court,” Nxesi stated.

The DPW currently lacked the technical skills required to identify, plan and manage effective projects for the public sector, with South Africa’s largest property owner running losses on its portfolio as it did not have the “right people”.

But he said the DPW was currently gaining traction in boosting and developing critical and scarce skills, while rebuilding its skills capacity through technical and professional training programmes in the built environment.

The department this week handed 50 full built-environment bursaries for studies towards a career in the construction sector – two months after awarding certificates to 26 young professionals after they attained professional registration status in the built environment.

Forty-five potential built environment professionals had completed the young professionals programme since 2010.

The DPW and the Construction Education and Training Authority (Ceta) equally sponsored bursaries valued at R120 000 each to 50 matriculants of 2013 who wished to study towards careers in the built environment.

The bursary covers tuition and residency fees, including meals, textbooks, academic projects and other necessary resources, as well as a monthly allowance to cover transport and other amenities.

Of the 22 females and 28 males awarded the bursaries, 12 were studying civil engineering, seven would focus on construction management and nine on mechanical engineering. The other students would study analytical chemistry, architecture, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, landscape architecture, property valuation, quantity surveying and town planning.

Another 70 bursaries would be awarded to second- and third-year students currently studying built environment disciplines.

The department had adopted 15 schools across the country to participate in the programme and had piloted the initiatives in its national office and five regional offices in Polokwane, Mmabatho, Kimberley, Mthatha and Port Elizabeth.

The DPW aimed to include schools from all regions in 2014 and eventually extend the programme to its provincial departments.

Learners would be afforded the opportunity to go through the department’s candidacy programme when they qualify and, ultimately, acquire professional registration. The department also planned to offer jobs in the DPW to successful candidates.

The bursary programme formed part of Ceta’s R50-million funding for artisan training, a candidacy programme for professionals and the department’s skills and internship programmes.