THEBE MABANGA
A NEW phase in infrastructure delivery kicked-off on Sunday with the launch of the Mooikloof Integrated Development, situated in the eastern part of Tshwane.
The project, described as one of the largest sectional title development in South Africa, is the first to be launched under the Strategic Infrastructure Development Symposium (SIDS), which was launched in June and had infrastructure projects worth R 340 billion gazetted in July.
The launch represents another success in the delivery of Human Settlements infrastructure but does not yet respond to critical challenge in other areas of infrastructure delivers, such as energy and rail.
The launch was attended by President Cyril Ramaphosa, Human Settlement Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, Infrastructure Development Minister Patricia De Lille and Gauteng Premier David Makhura among a host of dignitaries.
The development is a R30 billion mixed use development which will include 50 000 residential units, 15 000 of which will be built in the first phase launched on Sunday.
It will have final value of R84 billion.
Ramaphosa said the development is aimed “pushing back the ugly and horrible frontiers of the past” in reference to apartheid-era spatial planning where the “majority of people were relegated to backwaters and are now brought to the centre of economic activity”.
Ramaphosa was brutally frank and devastating in his description of apartheid era spatial planning.
“We continue to feel the effects of apartheid” he said, noting that townships were nothing more than reservoirs of labour while rural areas were underdeveloped Bantustans alongside oasis of white affluence. This made people, who typically live 40 km from cities, spend 40% of their income in transport and 40% of their time travelling.”
Ramaphosa described the Mooikloof area as the most sought-after area in the capital.
The development will boast various types of residential units in the affluent Mooikloof area, but it is aimed at what Ramaphosa called the “missing middle”, more commonly referred to the Gap Market of those who do not qualify for subsidised housing due to their level of earnings, yet at the same do not qualify for bank finance in areas such as Moikloof.
This group typically consists of junior to mid ranking civil servants and is catered for under the Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP).
Ramaphosa praised the project as a successful Public Private Partnership (PPP) between the Human Settlement Department Gauteng Government, City of Tswane and the Developers.
South Africa’s record on PPPs is not particularly encouraging with successful delivery in areas of housing, Healthcare and Toll Roads Concessions but a low number of projects delivered overall.
Ramaphosa urged the various spheres of government to speed up processes of zoning application and issuing of permits and Water Use Licences so as not to hamper the delivery of such projects. The City of Tshwane will develop the Garsfontein Provincial road in order to cope with anticipated increase in traffic flow.
At the launch of SIDS in June, under the leadership of Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa, government emphasised the need to use infrastructure development as a driver of economic recovery post-COVID-19.
Ramaphosa noted that the first challenge that government will face is finance for infrastructure projects.
“COVID-19 has worsened an already dire situation inn public finances,” he said.
This is why South Africa needs to mobilise private investment, with most of the R 340 billion unveiled in July, coming from private funders.
South Africa has a well-established construction, civil engineering, property development and fiancé sectors, which makes Human Settlements and social infrastructure projects easy to deliver.
The country will face a technical skills and capital crunch in other areas of infrastructure as it is competing with many other countries who are also looking to use infrastructure as a means for post-COVID revival.
(COMPILED BY INSIDE POLITICS STAFF)
