Parliament, Thursday, 7 May 2026 – The Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure has noted the concerns and grievances raised by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU) relating to the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI).
The committee held a meeting to adopt its draft report on Budget Vote 13: Public Works and Infrastructure while also dealing with grievances raised by NEHAWU at its head office.
During the meeting, the committee emphasised that issues with implications for governance, compliance, financial management and service delivery will be addressed through structured parliamentary oversight, while labour-relations matters will be processed through the Departmental Bargaining Chamber and other applicable processes.
In assessing the issues raised, the committee considered which matters fall within its oversight mandate and which are more appropriately resolved through labour-relations forums. This approach enables the committee to identify systemic risks, group the oversight-related issues, and outline actions that support transparency, legal compliance, value for money and improved performance.
The Chairperson of the committee, Ms Carol Phiri, said: “Where grievances point to broader governance and service-delivery risks, Parliament must act decisively. Our focus is to ensure lawful processes, credible financial controls and measurable improvement in performance.”
During the consideration of the Budget Vote draft report, the issues raised indicate several systemic areas that require urgent stabilisation, including lease management and concurrence processes, the sustainability of the Property Management Trading Entity (PMTE) funding model and strengthening financial controls following the SAGE system breach. The committee is also concerned about capacity constraints that affect service delivery and audit outcomes, as well as the safe and cost-effective delivery of capital works and the implications of any regional office consolidation.
To drive accountability and progress, the committee recommended that it should intensify its oversight through time-bound reporting and focused engagements with the department and relevant stakeholders.
This will include targeted briefings on the Government Immovable Asset Management Act compliance and leasing performance; the PMTE recovery plan (including billing and arrears); the status of investigations and recoveries related to the SAGE breach; and progress on capital works affecting safety and business continuity.
- DPWI will be required to submit a consolidated, time-bound progress report covering the committee’s priority areas.
- The committee will hold focused oversight engagements, including with National Treasury and key debtor departments, to support improvements in PMTE billing, arrears recovery and settlement arrangements.
- The committee will monitor delivery risks affecting safety and continuity of operations, including remediation at the CGO Building and the impact of any organisational restructuring on service levels.
The committee also noted that employee-specific labour matters should continue to be addressed through the DPWI Departmental Bargaining Chamber and established grievance processes.
To support a coordinated resolution, the Chairperson recommended that the Public Service Commission should be requesting to convene a meeting at which the DPWI and NEHAWU report on progress in resolving the grievances raised.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE, MS CAROL PHIRI.
For media enquiries or interviews with the committee Chairperson, please contact:
Name: Jabulani Majozi (Mr)
Parliamentary Communication Services
Cell: 083 358 5224
E-mail: jamajozi@parliament.gov.za
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