Ramaphosa Pledges Major Infrastructure Investment To Boost Economic Growth

President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted the commitment of the seventh administration to massively increase infrastructure investment, which is essential for boosting economic growth and improving service delivery.

During a briefing to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) in Parliament on Thursday, the president also updated on the government's efforts to address extortion against businesses and individuals, and progress in tackling unemployment and poverty.

"The development of public infrastructure is necessary for effective service delivery and economic development. That is why we are determined as this administration to massively increase the scale of investment in infrastructure. Through this investment, we will turn South Africa into a building site," Ramaphosa said, SA News reported.

The president acknowledged that delays or abandonment of public infrastructure projects negatively affect communities' access to services. To tackle this issue, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure started identifying these problematic projects during the sixth democratic administration.

In 2019, a Presidential Proclamation transferred responsibility for the Infrastructure Development Act to the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure.

Ramaphosa explained that this change allowed the Minister to create a more comprehensive approach to infrastructure development across all levels of government and the private sector through Infrastructure South Africa.

He noted that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has identified several key areas to drive infrastructure investment, including setting up the necessary structures to implement the National Infrastructure Plan 2050.

One of the key areas is to improve the preparation and prioritization of infrastructure projects, as per the president. Proposed reforms also include multi-year budgeting for better planning and delivery, and speeding up the permitting and approval processes.

The task of identifying incomplete and abandoned projects is being carried out across all provinces. Completing these projects requires specialized skills that might not always be available.

To address this, Ramaphosa mentioned that the department has called for experts in the built environment to help as needed. The Siyahlola program is one of the ways to monitor progress on these projects at an executive level.

He added, "In this program, site visits are conducted to check the status and plans to complete outstanding work. Follow-up visits are also conducted after a few months to ensure that the recovery plans are being implemented."