The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has begun a restructuring process aimed at cutting costs and improving efficiency,
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The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has begun a restructuring process aimed at cutting costs and improving efficiency, including the merging of regional offices and the introduction of early retirement and voluntary exit programmes for staff.
This was revealed by Minister Dean Mcpherson in a written parliamentary reply to a question from Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Edwin Bath, who had asked what steps the department has taken to reduce personnel costs and restructure its operations to improve efficiency and service delivery.
Mcpherson said the department is currently merging regional offices, including Port Elizabeth with Mthatha and Pretoria with Johannesburg, as part of efforts to align structures with provincial boundaries and improve accountability through a single provincial head per province.
"Therefore, the outcome will be to reduce four posts into two. It is anticipated that this process will enable the department to be more efficient, fit for purpose and deliver on its core mandate. Over and above, the department is also conceptualising Engineering South Africa. All these are still in the pipeline and will enable the department to deliver on its core mandate efficiently," Mcpherson said.
He added that the restructuring process is still at a consultative stage, meaning the exact number of posts affected has not yet been finalised.
Mcpherson said the department was also implementing the Department of Public Service and Administration’s early retirement and voluntary exit programmes, which form part of broader government efforts to reduce the public service wage bill.
"The Department is implementing the DPSA Circular No 38 of 2025 which facilitates the implementation of the Cabinet decision of 10 April 2024 on the introduction of Early Retirement (ER) without penalisation of pension benefits in terms of Section 16(6) of the Public Service Act 1994, amended, and the Voluntary Exit Programme (VEP) for employees in the Public Service.
"The approval by Cabinet includes an additional financial incentive for employees aged 55 to 59 years (ERP) and those aged 60 to 63 years (VEP) for the financial year 2025/2026, which the department has implemented, and 74 employees were approved for early retirement and 51 for voluntary exit with last day of service of 31 March 2026".
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