(4 minutes read)
· Private sector in South Africa is responding smartly to the clarion call by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call to increase investment in the country
· Private sector has committed R340 billion to 62 of the infrastructure projects announced by the President in June.
· Presidential announcement of 276 infrastructure projects would entail an investment R2.3 trillion
Private sector in South Africa is responding smartly to the clarion call by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call to increase investment in
the country. So far, the private sector has committed R340 billion to 62 of the infrastructure projects announced by the President in
June. Presidential announcement of 276 infrastructure projects, which would entail an investment R2.3 trillion in funding, had been
identified. These investments are mostly in the infrastructure sector since the policy makers are of the strong view that post Covid
-19 recovery would depend on the quantum of investments committed to infrastructure and revamping of small and medium industries. Close to 50 of these projects are ready for implementation. Some projects in the bouquet have received funding commitments. The projects are likely to generate 290 000 potential jobs.
These projects – which include water and sanitation (R106 billion), 15 transport sector projects (R48 billion), and an emergency power
program aimed at delivering up to 2 000 MW of new generation capacity from independent power producers are going to be fast- tracked. It
would take anything between 18 and 36 months for projects to get the required approvals, like re-zoning rights etc. However, the fast
tracked project would take only 56 days to get the required sanctions and licenses.
With the pressure to get the projects off the ground faster and a construction sector that has been plagued by corruption, the minister
for Public Works and Infrastructure, Patricia de Lille, said systems will be put in place to detect and prevent corrupt practices among
contractors and sanctioning authorizes during the tendering and implementation stages.
One step towards rooting out corruption is creating a single point of entry for all infrastructure projects across the country through
Infrastructure South Africa (ISA), a new entity in the process of being established. All projects will be reviewed by the Presidential
Infrastructure Coordinating Commission Council, which is made up of premiers, mayors, and state-owned companies. Construction works
relating to the projects will be kick-started soon and there should be tight monitoring to purge out any possible corruption in implementing these projects. Every single tender to whom it has been awarded will be made public in the most transparent manner as to who are the contractors, process of evaluation of tenders, time for completion
etc.
