The Presidency continues to coordinate infrastructure development through the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission (PICC), according to President Jacob Zuma.
Tabling the Presidency Budget Vote in the National Assembly in Cape Town yesterday the president said this year they are monitoring more than 200 project clusters where construction is taking place. These include road repairs and upgrades and the energy build programme of Medupi, Kusile and Ingula. The President said other projects include the building of new clinics, schools, broadband, the Square Kilometre Array project, water pipelines, dams and new bus routes in large cities. He explained that the PICC also monitors government’s localisation programme which calls for 75% local components in manufacturing. “At the continental level, we continue to champion the road and rail infrastructure programme through the Presidential Infrastructure Championing Initiative (PICI) programme of the African Union (AU),” said President Zuma. He added that regional and cross-border infrastructure will be developed to facilitate intra-Africa trade and investment. He envisaged that the initiative will ultimately unlock the economic potential of the continent and provide development opportunities for regions, countries and the peoples.He said another special project is the establishment of a special unit in the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation to monitor and promote the payment of suppliers by all government departments within 30 days of receipt of a legitimate invoice.
