Jacqui Gooch, has been appointed as the new HOD for the Department of Transport and Public Works in the Western Cape taking up the position at the beginning of November.The current HOD, Johan Fourie retires at the end of October and since the beginning of August has been transferring his skills to Gooch.

A born and bred Capetonian, Gooch obtained her BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Cape Town in 1998 and her MEng (Civil), focusing on traffic and transportation, from the University of Stellenbosch in 2003.  Jacqui has worked both in the private and public sectors, starting her career with GIBB Consulting Engineers working on Traffic Impact Assessments and numerous public transport projects.

She decided a change of scenery was needed and went to work in the Public Transport Branch of the Provincial Department of Transport and Public Works for a year, managing public transport planning and infrastructure projects.

She then became the Director: Strategic Support in 2005, followed by her 2009 appointment as the Deputy Director-General responsible for Strategy, Planning and Co-ordination.  This includes driving the strategy for the Department, integrated planning, knowledge management, the Expanded Public Works Programme and monitoring and evaluation.

She is currently studying towards a Master of Business Administration in Executive Management (EMBA) at UCT’s Graduate School of Business.

The Department of Transport and Public Works manages, in addition to its budget of R4, 639 billion, a further R2, 186 billion on behalf of its client departments (Western Cape Health and Education Departments). It is tasked with developing and maintaining appropriate infrastructure and related services for sustainable economic development which generates growth in jobs and facilitates empowerment and opportunity. It is responsible for maintaining the provincial road grid as well as the regulation of provincial traffic and public transport, including 10000 Minibus Taxis. It oversees the Integrated Transport Plans of all Western Cape Municipalities, including the City of Cape Town Metro. It builds, furnishes and maintains offices, schools, health facilities and work areas accommodating some 80000 staff, caring for 15 million patients, and educating 1, 050 million learners.