Public Works unveils plan to fix 'half-built schools, ghost hospitals' and blacklist failing contractors

South Africa’s endless cycle of half-built schools, ghost hospitals and ballooning project costs could soon face a reckoning.

On Wednesday, 29 October, Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson unveiled the South African Construction Action Plan (Sacap) — a new framework to restore accountability, fix failing projects and end what he called “the days of doing business with the government without delivering”.

Speaking to the media in Cape Town after a meeting of provincial and national infrastructure leaders the previous day, Macpherson said the plan was designed to “end the cycle of missed deadlines, mismanaged budgets and disappearing contractors” that has crippled public construction for years.

“[South Africans] are tired of excuses as to why there are so many incomplete projects,” he said. “They are tired of the delays and the lack of accountability that [have] plagued our sector. And they are right to feel that way.”

A system that collapsed on itself 

Sacap arrives amid a near-collapse of state-led construction. Public sector capital expenditure has plunged from R283-billion in 2016 to just R198-billion in 2021, according to Stats SA data.

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The National Development Plan aims for Gross Fixed Capital Formation to reach 30% of GDP  (with public sector capex around 10%) by 2030; actual total investment was 14.2% of GDP in 2022, according to a Parliamentary review on the state of infrastructure.

To reach the 30% target, R1.7-trillion in funding is required, which translates to an additional R140-billion annually for seven years, Mameetse Masemola, Deputy Director-General: Infrastructure Investment Planning and Oversight, told a parliamentary meeting in August 2024.

Between 2016 and 2020, the Auditor-General found that the number of projects that missed deadlines grew sixfold, from 10% to 60%. Behind these figures lies a pattern of poor planning, weak project management and the now routine “cash flow constraints” that often leave construction sites frozen mid-build.

The six-point blueprint for accountability

Sacap is structured around six actions that together amount to a public promise of accountability.

1. Blacklisting bad actors

A new national database will name and restrict contractors and consultants who fail to deliver. The system will close a loophole that has allowed underperforming firms to resurface under new names in different provinces. “It should be an honour to do business with the state,” said Macpherson.

2. Fixing cash flow chaos

To stop budget diversions, all infrastructure funds will be ring-fenced. Departments will have to ensure full, timely and transparent funding for every approved project. A new joint national-provincial subcommittee will monitor compliance and cash flow in real time.

3. Tracking every brick

Every Public Works department will implement a digital asset information management system by March 2026. It’s a tech-based attempt to introduce real-time transparency.

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4. Procurement war rooms

Each department will set up a procurement war room, staffed with engineers, supply chain specialists and legal advisers to monitor tenders and contract awards above a set threshold.

5. Fixing the audit disaster

Public Works will now work hand in hand with the Auditor-General to resolve audit issues as they arise, not years later. Director-General Sifiso Mdakane said a culture of “structured consequence management” would be key to making the plan work.

6. Professionalising the state

All Public Works engineers, architects and project managers must be professionally registered with their respective councils by June 2026. The aim is to rebuild the technical capacity of the state and reduce dependence on costly external consultants.

Tackling the construction mafia

The plan also targets the so-called “construction mafia” – criminal groups posing as business forums or community bodies that use violence or intimidation to extort a share of public projects or force contractors to use their services.

Macpherson said the state’s law enforcement drive, under the Durban Declaration, is yielding results. “In a year, we have seen more than 850 people arrested,” he said. “We’ve seen around 240 convictions now.”

Parliament’s trade, industry and competition committee has thrown its weight behind this crackdown. “The government allocated 30% of the value of projects to SMMEs with a view to empower them and those they employ. Unfortunately, this has led to thuggish behaviour with criminals demanding payment and bringing projects to a halt,” chairperson Mzwandile Masina said.

Read more: Reimagining empowerment to stop the construction mafia

“This intervention was never intended for criminals, but well-meaning South Africans who want to come into the mainstream economy,” Masina said. “It is time to clamp down on this kind of criminality.”

A test of delivery

The department currently manages R14-billion worth of active projects, said Macpherson. Provinces such as Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape were singled out for showing “pockets of excellence” in delivery – proof, Macpherson said, that the system could work when accountability was not optional.

According to Deputy Director-General Batho Mokhothu, implementation will follow a four-phase schedule, with progress reports made “transparently, quarterly, and publicly”.

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“We are saying publicly that the system has failed too often, but that it can be fixed and it is being fixed. I ask that you hold us accountable and report non-compliance so that we can act on it,” Macpherson said.

South Africa has no shortage of action plans, but few survive the collision between promise and practice. Sacap’s success will be measured by whether it can survive political resistance, bureaucratic inertia and the entrenched culture of impunity it seeks to dismantle. DM