South African municipal infrastructure development

The 5th Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa (SIDSSA) opened in Cape Town, convened by President Cyril Ramaphosa to address municipal infrastructure resilience. During the event, Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Building Institute, the Infrastructure Technical Assistance Facility, and Zutari to enhance collaboration on national infrastructure projects.

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson reported that ISA has committed R131 million over the past 18 months to support local government infrastructure. This includes R9.39 million for strategic water projects in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape, which represent an estimated R7.3 billion investment value.

Minister Macpherson noted that technical preparation has successfully unlocked significant funding, such as an R800 million facility for the Matjhabeng Local Municipality. Furthermore, the Presidential Adopt-a-Municipality pilot programme is working to unlock approximately R7 billion in investments across water, sanitation, energy, and waste management. To improve accountability, the Minister stated that 52 contractors have been removed from the Construction Industry Development Board register for fraudulent conduct in the last 22 months.