Senior Business Correspondent

DETAILS of the much talkedabout extended public works programme are expected to be released by April, public works department director-general Mveli Maseko said yesterday.

The programme is expected to generate 1-million jobs over the next five years, and contribute to skills development. It will focus on building social infrastructure including housing, municipal services, roads, government facilities and land care.

Addressing Terrapin's annual Black Business Summit in Johannesburg, Maseko said the programme could in one sense be seen as identifying a certain percentage of government expenditure for providing services while creating job opportunities.

"Once the details of the programme are finalised, people will be able to know how much government will spend, and which roads will be constructed and the kind of training programmes that will be available.

"The (sector education training authority) in the construction industry was already working on a training programme for this project," he said. Maseko also said when it came to government procurement, the "BMW-briefcase-cellphone-and-a-fax machine" syndrome, also known as "rent-a-black", had characterised too many businesses in SA.

"This cannot continue. This is similar if not as bad as those companies that appoint blacks into positions with neither budgets nor responsibilities the so-called managers with no staff to manage."

He said some companies appointed blacks to positions that had dealings with government departments only.

Maseko said these token appointees became important only when the company put in a bid for government contracts or when company management met senior government officials.

"Surely black managers can offer more to these companies than just showing their faces to government officials," he said.

Maseko said this was one factor that contributed to job hopping, as no one could get job satisfaction from this treatment.

"Patriotic business leaders must show leadership and demonstrate their commitment to change," he said.

Jan 21 2004 07:41:38:000AM Patrick Wadula Business Day 1st Edition