By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) has published its 2022 Infrastructure Report Card, that shows around half of South Africa’s public infrastructure has collapsed or is close to collapsing.
SAICE has been publishing the report since 2006 as a guide for analysts, educators, policymakers and the general public to understand the status of infrastructure in South Africa, as well as the various challenges facing each sector.
The scorecard is based on a simple five-point scale ranging from A (world-class) to E (unfit for purpose), and mainly focuses on public infrastructure and state-owned companies like Eskom, Prasa, Transnet, etc.
In the 2022 report, SAICE found that infrastructure in South Africa is in crisis. The report assessed 32 different infrastructure segments and found only 15 to be “satisfactory” or above (graded C or above), with the remaining segments falling into being “at risk of failing” (D) or “unfit for purpose” (E).
South Africa’s overall infrastructure rating was a D, indicating that infrastructure is not coping with normal demand and is poorly maintained.
“It is likely that the public will be subjected to severe inconvenience and even danger without prompt action,” it said.
Broadly speaking, SAICE said that it is evident that, with the exception of energy generation, economic infrastructure remains in a satisfactory condition.”Even those assets that have deteriorated, such as heavy freight rail and airports, maintain grades of B or C,” it said.
However, the further degradation of social infrastructure paints a dismal picture of the plight that ordinary people face to access basic services of water, sanitation, health, education, public transport and electricity.
“Altogether, the situation cries out for urgent and sustained attention.”
Sixteen years ago, the first report card gave South Africa’s infrastructure an overall grade of D+. The next IRC (2011) noted that the heavy investments in new infrastructure for the 2010 Soccer World Cup had elevated the overall grade to C-.
“We cautioned that this apparent improvement was not cause for complacency. In the following years, it became evident that the poor attitude to maintenance had continued, and this was reflected in the downturn in the subsequent grade to D+ in 2017,” the group said.
In 2022, the overall grade for South Africa’s public infrastructure declined further to D, the lowest grade ever recorded by SAICE, which is of great concern.