2014 BUDGET SPEECH (PART 8) IMPROVING PROJECT - TopicsExpress

2014 BUDGET SPEECH (PART 8) IMPROVING PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION Madam Speaker, Government remains concerned about the poor performance by some private contractors in implementing Government projects as well as the future cost of maintaining such facilities. In addition, over the past years, the development budget has been under spent, on average by 15 – 20 percent per year, which denies Batswana the necessary services. To address some of these issues, Government has put in place stringent measures to deal with defaulting contractors who provide services to Government. In this regard, the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act (Suspension and De-listing of Contractors Amendment Regulations), and the Code of Conduct for Contractors, became operational in March 2013. These legal instruments give Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board the power to suspend and delist contractors who do not honour their contractual obligations with Government. Furthermore, the Ministry of Infrastructure, Science and Technology has established a Project Management Office to oversee monitoring and control of all infrastructure projects. Additional interventions include the drafting of new legislation, and amending some existing Acts for the construction industry professions, such as architects, engineers and quantity surveyors. This will facilitate self-regulation, protect public interest and ultimately lead to improved service delivery.