Among those in attendance were Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi, Tshwane and Joburg mayors Nasiphi Moya and Dada Morero, respectively.
Bongi Ngoma, head of audit at the Auditor-General of South Africa, highlighted the poor state of infrastructure in the country and its ripple effect on the public, and used Clover [a dairy products group] as an example of how lack of service delivery impacts jobs. "Clover had to relocate from Lichtenburg, North West, to KZN due to infrastructure decay, and mostly due to the dire state of the roads.
"It was getting more expensive for Clover to fix tyres [of its fleet] , and added to this, the water shortage rendered Clover unable to run the business efficiently and the biggest losers where the residents of the North West.
"We have also witnessed instances of sewage running on the streets of Emfuleni municipality [in the Vaal in Gauteng]. Of course, it has a financial ripple effect as residents turn to be reluctant to pay services due to lack of trust, and non-payment compromises the delivery of the same services that they need," she said
According to Ngoma, there is a need to have a fresh approach on how the government maintains infrastructure.
"Infrastructure is only half the narrative of service delivery, the other half is maintaining and servicing it and the construction site is not complete until we also apply ourselves to how this infrastructure will be maintained," she added.
The department's head of property management, Siza Sibande, said the programme is launched under the theme of turning SA into a construction site with the aim of growing the economy, creating jobs and attracting investments.
Sibande said the plan is to optimise state property and turn it into a sustainable business to enhance service delivery and introduce new money into the fiscus.
"More than anything, the aim is to ensure that there is accountability," said Sibande. "There are three pillars that are driving us. Infrastructure development is a major contributor to job creation, it must also contribute to gross capital formation, and in the next five years or so we must be able to attract private investment to the tune of R100-million through our partnership and our strategy in terms of long term," he said.
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Summit turns spotlight on poor state of infrastructure in SA
Image: Supplied
Poor road and bridge infrastructure, hijacked buildings as well as decaying infrastructure were brought into the spotlight at the inaugural Public Works and Infrastructure Summit in Sandton on Tuesday.
The department is holding the summit to launch the infrastructure audit training programme, and among other key issues to address under-investment in infrastructure and underspending.
Among those in attendance were Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi, Tshwane and Joburg mayors Nasiphi Moya and Dada Morero, respectively.
Bongi Ngoma, head of audit at the Auditor-General of South Africa, highlighted the poor state of infrastructure in the country and its ripple effect on the public, and used Clover [a dairy products group] as an example of how lack of service delivery impacts jobs. "Clover had to relocate from Lichtenburg, North West, to KZN due to infrastructure decay, and mostly due to the dire state of the roads.
"It was getting more expensive for Clover to fix tyres [of its fleet] , and added to this, the water shortage rendered Clover unable to run the business efficiently and the biggest losers where the residents of the North West.
"We have also witnessed instances of sewage running on the streets of Emfuleni municipality [in the Vaal in Gauteng]. Of course, it has a financial ripple effect as residents turn to be reluctant to pay services due to lack of trust, and non-payment compromises the delivery of the same services that they need," she said
According to Ngoma, there is a need to have a fresh approach on how the government maintains infrastructure.
"Infrastructure is only half the narrative of service delivery, the other half is maintaining and servicing it and the construction site is not complete until we also apply ourselves to how this infrastructure will be maintained," she added.
The department's head of property management, Siza Sibande, said the programme is launched under the theme of turning SA into a construction site with the aim of growing the economy, creating jobs and attracting investments.
Sibande said the plan is to optimise state property and turn it into a sustainable business to enhance service delivery and introduce new money into the fiscus.
"More than anything, the aim is to ensure that there is accountability," said Sibande. "There are three pillars that are driving us. Infrastructure development is a major contributor to job creation, it must also contribute to gross capital formation, and in the next five years or so we must be able to attract private investment to the tune of R100-million through our partnership and our strategy in terms of long term," he said.
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