By Akani Nkuna
President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that providing additional infrastructure grants without strengthening institutional capability will not deliver sustainable infrastructure, calling for better project preparation, proper maintenance plans and stronger institutions to ensure projects serve communities effectively rather than becoming liabilities.
“Providing another grant without underlying capability of the institution is just not sufficient. Building a new assessment without making provision for a way it will operate and also its maintenance going forward is not sustainable,” he said.
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“We should not just be dumping projects on our people and walking away. Developing long lists of projects without preparing them properly does not constitute an infrastructure pipeline. The approach we are developing places project preparation, institutional capability, financing and asset management together.”
Ramaphosa was addressing the 5th Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium of South Africa (SIDSSA), held at the Century City Convention Centre in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Themed “Shaping the Future of Municipal Infrastructure”, the symposium brought together government officials, industry leaders, development finance institutions, the private sector and other stakeholders to address municipal infrastructure challenges and highlight the role of local government in strengthening the foundations for inclusive economic participation.
The Strategic Integrated Projects portfolio has grown substantially since 2020.
“Through Infrastructure South Africa’s R600 million project preparation facility, 26 projects have received and are receiving project development support. This kind of support is particularly important as we shift our focus towards municipal infrastructure delivery,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa also emphasised that the country’s investment level remained well below what was required to enable faster and sustained economic growth.
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Gross fixed capital formation stood at about 14% of GDP in 2025, well below the National Development Plan’s target of 30% of GDP by 2030, underscoring the scale of the investment challenge facing the country.
Ramaphosa also said that the Adopt-a-Municipality pilot programme is preparing projects aimed at unlocking about R7 billion in investment, focusing on municipal services including water, electricity and waste management while improving certainty and visibility around the country’s infrastructure pipeline.
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“We know that physical infrastructure alone will not deliver integration. We must continue the work of harmonising the policies, regulations, standards and institutional arrangements that enable infrastructure systems to operate effectively across national boundaries,” said Ramaphosa.
Meanwhile, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa said the country’s infrastructure needs were significant and urged government to mobilise additional sources of finance, including blended finance, public-private partnerships and institutional investment, to address the infrastructure gap.
“The financing challenge is not simply to borrow more. It is to structure an affordable, value-for-money investment that combines grants, municipal revenues, development finance, and private capital in ways that do not impose unsustainable debt burdens on municipal balance sheets or compromise service affordability,” he said.
