There would be no service delivery if government did not use the services of consulting firms, Consulting Engineers SA (CESA) said on Friday.
South Africa's new banknotes.
CESA said it found a
report by the auditor general, which outlined government's use of consultants,
concerning.
The report showed that
national government departments spent R33.5 billion on consultants over
three years, and value for money was not achieved in all cases.
CESA CEO Graham Pirie
said he was concerned the report painted all consultants with the same brush.
He agreed that no proper
management controls were in place, specifically with regard to payments for
services.
"This is evident in
the fact that the public sector entities as reflected in the three spheres of
government still owe to the tune of R1bn in delayed payments to consulting
engineering firms," said Pirie.
CESA represents 480
firms employing just over 22 000 staff.
Pirie said concerted
efforts were made to ensure proper controls were in place so CESA members could
perform their duties based on sound ethical principles.
He said government
should be spending more on engineering consultants, who could help unlock
projects, and improve infrastructure spend and delivery.
"Engineers play
a vital role in partnering with government as their trusted adviser to ensure
sustainable solutions that provide both quality and value are procured by the
various departments and at the same time providing skills transfer to mentor
and train government personnel to ensure continued service delivery."
Image by: SIPHIWE SIBEKO / Reuters
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