President Cyril Ramaphosa has concluded the inaugural Presidential Infrastructure Commission Council under the 7th administration. The Council convened to discuss amongst others, a plan on dealing with crime and extortion at construction sites, the level of implementation of priority infrastructure projects and programmes, as well as strategic initiatives that are being developed to accelerate the pace and quality of infrastructure investments in the country.
The Council is constituted by the President, Deputy President, Ministers designated by the President, Premiers of Provinces, Executive Mayors of Metropolitan Councils and the chairperson of the South African Local Government Association. Per the Infrastructure Development Act, the Council is tasked with, inter alia:
- Coordinating the development, maintenance, implementation and monitoring of the national infrastructure plan
- Coordinating the determination of priorities for infrastructure development
- Ensuring that infrastructure development in respect of any strategic integrated project is given priority in planning, approval and implementation
- Ensuring co-operation between organs of state affected by projects undertaken
- Promoting investment and identifying and develop strategies to cause the removal of impediments to investment
“This administration has prioritised scaling up investment in infrastructure as we seek to grow the economy, create more jobs, improve access to basic services, and improve the quality of life of our citizens. Continuing the work of the sixth administration, we are working to involve the private sector in achieving our infrastructure development goals. It is encouraging that after a period of declining infrastructure spend, public sector capital expenditure is on the rise for the second straight year. According to Statistics SA, last year public sector institutions had a combined capital expenditure of R233 billion. This is an 11 per cent increase on the previous year”, said President Ramaphosa.
Implementation of Strategic Integrated Projects
The Council noted that there are 19 Completed Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs) valued at R26 billion, of these projects 6 are in Transport, 3 in Water and Sanitation, 1 in Energy, 4 in Human settlements and 5 in Student accommodation. Currently, 82 projects valued at R437 billion are in construction.
In addition to providing technical assistance and resources to help project sponsors prepare comprehensive business cases, ensuring they are economically viable and socially beneficial, Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) has played a pivotal role in supporting project sponsors to expedite approvals, authorisations, licenses, permissions and exemptions with relevant authority. Over 654 requests for regulatory unblocking were lodged with ISA between 2020 and 2024, to date 497 approvals have been granted and 157 are currently in progress.
The Total project value of SIP projects gazetted between 2020 and 2024 has grown to 3 Trillion Rands with the key drivers being the Eskom Programme (SIP 8, 9 and 10), the Embedded Generation National Programme and the Green Hydrogen National Programme (SIP 20E)
Aiding Municipalities
The Council agreed that there is a need to enhance the Municipal infrastructure service delivery model using ISA’s methodology, which emphasizes project preparation using the five (5) Case Model, planning and prioritisation, development of business cases, mobilisation of funds from private and public sectors, implementation of innovative solutions and effective monitoring. This model will be piloted in four local municipalities and leverage external resources & technical capacity stemming from local and international partners.
The following four Municipalities will benefit from the “adopt a municipality” pilot initiative: Govan Mbeki Local Municipality in Mpumalanga, Kagisano-Molopo Local Municiapity in the North-West, Umngeni Municipality in Kwa-Zulu Natal and Metsemaholo Local Municipality in the Free State.
This initiative, spearheaded by ISA, will address critical service delivery challenges including persistent incomplete projects and infrastructure issues. ISA aims to drive urgent improvements over the next 24 months, with some projects being completed during this timeframe. ISA will hold further consultations on the next cohort of municipalities to be added to the initiative.
Crime and Extortion on Construction Sites
The Council has lauded the contribution of the construction industry to job growth in the second and third quarters. According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey released by Statistics South Africa, the construction sector added 176,000 jobs, playing a pivotal role in reducing the national unemployment rate by 1.4% in the third quarter.
To this end, the construction industry is vital for socio-economic development, employment, and infrastructure improvement and therefore crime and extortion on construction sites must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. The Council noted efforts by the police in addressing criminal and extortion cases.
The Council further noted that there is an indication of increasing trends in criminal activities on construction sites despite governments efforts to embed social facilitation and involve law enforcement. Effective mitigation will require coordinated efforts from all stakeholders.
The Council has made the following recommendations on the matter:
- That Law Enforcement be allocated more resources to deal with criminal activity and violence on construction sites
- That policy reforms in the construction sector be prioritised.
- That Industry adopt best practices in social facilitation and invest in security measures.
- That infrastructure project leads enhance community engagement and encourage communities to actively participate in project planning.
- Programme of Action for the PICC Council in the 7th administration
- The PICC Council has identified 8 pathways to driving infrastructure investment and growth in the next 5 years. These pathways will underpin the infrastructure investment plan of the 7th administration.
The 8 Pathways include:
Pathway 1: Institutional Coordination
Affirming Infrastructure South Africa as a Single Point of Entry for priority infrastructure projects
Pathway 2: Centralised Planning and Prioritisation
Establish a gateway mechanism for projects and programme that are deemed strategic/catalytic
Pathway 3: Budget Reforms
Accelerate the Implementation of Broader Reforms to enable infrastructure investment
Pathway 4: Address Regulatory Bottlenecks
Streamline regulatory and approval processes to fast-track implementation of infrastructure projects
Pathway 5: Municipal Bulk Infrastructure
Address funding and financing of municipal bulk infrastructure
Pathway 6: Unlocking other sources of funding
Increase and diversify sources of funding for both project preparation and infrastructure funding & financing
Pathway 7: Economic Regulation in Construction
Strengthen regulatory framework governing construction industry
Pathway 8: Cancellation of tenders, social unrest, damage to infrastructure and crime
Improving governance of infrastructure projects and ensure close collaboration with law enforcement agencies
