Durban - Most municipalities are not fulfilling their constitutional mandates by failing to maintain ageing infrastructure.
This is according to a survey report published by the South African Property Owners’ Association (Sapoa) on the state of infrastructure in the 15 largest municipalities across the country.
The survey, based on responses from Sapoa members from several sectors including property owners and developers, consultants such as architects, quantity surveyors and property managers, looked at eThekwini Municipality, the City of Cape Town, City of Joburg, City of Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Nelson Mandela Bay, Buffalo City, Mbombela, City of Polokwane, Mangaung, Msunduzi in Pietermaritzburg, eMfuleni, eMalahleni, Sol Plaatje and Rustenburg.
With regard to grading of water and electricity infrastructure, the survey found that none of the respondents felt that eThekwini and Msunduzi had world-class infrastructure.
In addition in eThekwini, 24% believed the water and electricity infrastructure was satisfactory for present use, while 54% believed it was at risk of failure in the near future
In Msunduzi, 23% believed the water infrastructure was satisfactory for present use, while 54% believed it was at risk of failure in the near future.
On electricity, in Msunduzi, 14% believed the infrastructure was satisfactory for present use while 50% thought it was at risk of failure in the near future.
Alarmingly, 93% of respondents believed that the condition of the infrastructure in Msunduzi had become worse over the past five years, while 83% felt eThekwini infrastructure had worsened in the same period.
The report found that municipalities remained in breach of their constitutional mandates to provide sustainable services to their communities.
They found that ageing infrastructure, such as water pipes, water treatment plants, roads, and electricity substations, had become increasingly evident in various municipalities.
“As repeatedly demonstrated by successive auditor-general reports into the state of municipalities, local government has broadly failed, and their sustainability is worsening,” said the report.
The association said developers and private homeowners were having to carry the costs of maintenance and upgrading of infrastructure in their cities, which was effectively the mandate of the local municipalities.
In response to the report, eThekwini Municipality said it had not seen it yet, but it was glad that it continued to attract investment worth billions.
Municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said the city was proud of its comprehensive programme of action to rehabilitate infrastructure.
“The city has become a construction site. We have also made great strides in rebuilding our infrastructure that was destroyed by two waves of floods and the July civil unrest. It is a fact that like all cities, we also have got a bad story to tell about deteriorating infrastructure. But we are proud that we have got a comprehensive programme of action to rehabilitate our infrastructure, hence we announced the introduction of the infrastructure levy,” he said.
The Msunduzi Municipality said it had invested millions towards the city’s infrastructure upgrades, repairs and maintenance in the current financial year. “This reflects the municipality's consistent efforts aimed at renewing the city’s ageing infrastructure. A number of these projects are being implemented,” said municipal spokesperson Ntobeko Mkhize.
Regarding investor confidence, Msunduzi said it was unfortunately continuously experiencing disinvestment.
“If the city keeps having investors that are expanding or relocating to other cities, that affects us with rising unemployment, increasing poverty and high crime rates. In our section, Local Economic Development we have a programme called Business Retention and expansion where we visit some of these key businesses to equip them with information,” said Mkhize.
Sapoa found that one of the challenges faced by these municipalities was lack of skills.
“Work is being outsourced to consultants resulting in expenditure over and above salaries being paid to municipal officials, salary bills exceeding the equitable share received from the government and municipalities not having adequate systems.”
The survey said one of the main complaints highlighted by the respondents was that developments are lagging, placed on hold, or even cancelled due to unavailability or the lack of infrastructure.