CHARLES MOLELE
GOVERNMENT intends to use major public infrastructure projects to spur economic growth in South Africa, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told Parliamentarians on Wednesday.
Following the negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic on economic activity in South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration identified infrastructure as an important sector to create jobs and address the essential service needs of communities, both in rural and urban areas.
Godongwana said that the public sector is projected to spend at least R903 billion on public infrastructure over the medium-term, adding that the largest portion of this, around R448 billion, will be spent by State-owned companies, public entities and through public-private partnerships.
Presenting his 2023 Budget Speech to Parliament at the Cape Town City Hall, Godongwana said these spending plans are mostly for strategic projects in the transport and water and sanitation sectors.
He said transport and logistics will spend an estimated R351.1 billion, including for SANRAL to improve the road infrastructure network, while water and sanitation is planned to spend R132.5 billion over the next three years, mainly by the water Boards.
“As we undertake infrastructure projects, we need to crack down on criminality in the construction sector. The extortion and intimidation of lawfully appointed contractors and the workers they employ cannot be tolerated,” said Godongwana.
He also highlighted a few of the shovel-ready projects approved through the Budget Facility for Infrastructure.
“The 488-bed Limpopo Central Hospital will finally begin construction in March this year … Phase 2 of the Welisizwe Rural Bridges programme breaks ground in April this year. It plans to install 96 bridges annually to enable rural communities in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Free State, and North West to safely access schools and workplaces. R3.8 billion is allocated for the programme over the medium term,” he said.
The Sol Plaatje Municipality will also repair aspects of the Riverton Water Supply Scheme, which is the only water source and supply system to Kimberly, said Godongwana.
“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,” he said.
“Access roads for the Mzimvubu Water Project are nearing completion. The construction of the Ntabelanga Dam will begin later this year. Additional funding during the next financial year may be required to ramp up implementation.”
He said site establishment for the Clanwilliam Dam project has already been completed.
All surface works and 15% of all concrete works, he added, will be completed by the end of this year.
“Our focus is not only on building new infrastructure, but also on maintaining existing infrastructure. We do this to ensure that it lasts long and performs to the required standard,” he said.
“At the same time, we are looking at initiatives to leverage private sector resources in public infrastructure delivery. This is to strengthen state capacity to expand infrastructure delivery and to catalyse private finance.”
Godongwana further told Parliament that government will later this year table a law to establish an infrastructure agency to leverage the assets in the water sector for increased investment in water resource infrastructure.
He said in the digital telecommunications space, government will soon switch-off the analogue signal and finalise the migration to digital signal.
This will unlock the benefits of the spectrum auction and unleash renewed investment in the sector.
“We are introducing new regulations to enable the accelerated rollout of telecommunications infrastructure,” he said.
“We are clearing the backlog in work visa applications and are implementing the recommendations of the skilled immigration review. Despite these gains, the challenges in electricity and logistics threaten to undermine the reform agenda.”
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