By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Public works minister Sihle Zikalala says his department will meet with economic sabotage unit set up within police to deal with so called construction mafia’s.
Zikalala said everyone is allowed to partake in economic activity in the country, but this must be done within legal framework.
Equally, we will mobilise communities to work with law enforcement to fight corruption, crime and the construction mafia who are sabotaging the delivery of infrastructure and hampering job creation.”
The minister was speaking at a media briefing to outline and update the country on the national infrastructure plan.
He said the plan articulated the country’s need for infrastructure-led economic growth and recovery and identified projects in all provinces, concentrating on the network industries with the ability to attract private sector financing and funding.
“In tandem, cabinet also approved the establishment of Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) as an infrastructure centre of excellence and a single point of entry for infrastructure planning, management and delivery.”
The minister said the plan focuses on ensuring there is sustainable, efficient, reliable and affordable infrastructure that enables economic growth and accelerates the creation of jobs across a swathe of economic sectors like water infrastructure, network infrastructure, agricultural infrastructure, social infrastructure and human settlements infrastructure.
He said the department is also focused on building new and upgrading existing infrastructure, repurposing and expediting the maintenance of neglected infrastructure.
Zikalala said the department would be repositioning itself as the implementing agent of choice.
As part of government’s commitment to grow the economy through infrastructure delivery, Zikalala said projects worth about R21.4 billion that mainly comprise of roads and human settlement have been completed.
These projects are part of the Infrastructure Investment Plan, which articulates the country’s need for an infrastructure-led economic growth and recovery. The plan was approved by Cabinet in May 2020 and it outlines pipeline of projects from all three spheres of government, state-owned entities and the private sector.
Projects in procurement stand at R295.2 billion.
The public sector is projected to spend R903 billion on infrastructure over the medium-term. The largest portion of this, around R448 billion, will be spent by state-owned companies, public entities and through public-private partnerships.
The Minister said the Infrastructure Investment Plan is an integral part of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP) announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Various road projects in KwaZulu- Natal, the Free State and Limpopo have been completed. In addition, housing projects in Gauteng and many other projects across the country are in construction and procurement phases.
Some of these are:
- Phase 2 of the Welisizwe Rural Bridges programme will commence this month. Government plans to build 96 bridges in total and three per quarter to enable rural communities in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Free State, and North West to safely access schools, workplaces and public amenities. R3.8 billion is allocated for the programme over the medium term.
- The construction of enabling bulk infrastructure, such as roads and water components for the Lufhereng Mixed-Use Development in Gauteng, begins in June 2023. It will support the development of 31,000 mixed housing units.
- Access roads for the Umzimvubu Water Project in the Eastern Cape are nearing completion. The construction of the Ntabelanga Dam, which is a part of this project, will begin later this year.
- In the Western Cape, site establishment for the Clanwilliam Dam raising project is completed. All surface works and 15% of all concrete works will be completed by the end of this year.
- The total value of projects completed is R21.4 billion – mainly roads and human settlement projects. The total value of projects currently in construction is R 313.5 billion. Projects in procurement are standing at R295.2 billion.