Municipal infrastructure: our delivery record has made a difference to the lives of the poor

Note to editors: The following statement was distributed at a press conference held at Parliament earlier today by Lindiwe Mazibuko MP, DA National Spokesperson, and Cape Town Mayoral Committee members Cllr Elizabeth Thompson and Cllr Clive Justus.

Last week, the Democratic Alliance (DA) revealed that our Western Cape administration is the only province in the country to receive its full provincial infrastructure grant allocation, while eight ANC-run provinces have had a total of nearly R2.5 billion in allocations blocked, due to their inability to properly spend allocated funds. Today, we will show how DA administrations at local government level have similarly outperformed other municipalities, and delivered on our promise of building infrastructure and creating jobs.

Introduction

The provision and maintenance of infrastructure is one of the central functions of local government. Various sorts of municipal infrastructure, like tarred roads, water pipes, sewage systems and electricity grids, act as a delivery conduit that municipalities rely on for empowering their residents, who can then leverage them with their own talents.

When infrastructure is provided and well-maintained, as in the City of Cape Town, residents are able to use it as a platform for productive activities, such as going to school, operating businesses, transporting goods and communicating with others. Without adequate infrastructure, municipalities stagnate economically, councils struggle to provide services, and residents find it difficult to live up to their potential. Good infrastructure is the foundation upon which service delivery takes place, and opportunities are created and accessed.

Municipalities fund infrastructure both by raising local taxes - rates - and by means of direct transfers from the national government. The extent to which these latter transfers are spent efficiently is a key indicator of an administration's commitment to improving infrastructure, and we review this subject matter below.

We also consider the broader performance records of our municipalities in delivering infrastructure, and we set out evidence of infrastructure-led growth and job creation in our municipalities. Finally, we review how the DA is striving to implement energy-efficient, eco-friendly infrastructure. We begin the subject of Municipal Infrastructure Grants:

Municipal Infrastructure Grants

Conditional Municipal Infrastructure Grants (MIGs) provide crucial funds for local governments to finance infrastructure development with a focus on the poor. These grants are one of three major categories of allocated resources from national government (the other two types of grants deal with capacity building and service delivery).

How municipalities spend their MIGs says a great deal about the attitude of those administrations. Critically, MIGs are grants designated specifically for the expansion of basic infrastructure to poor households, and to alleviate poverty. In fact, MIGs cannot be used for infrastructure that is used by communities that are not poor (municipalities are obliged to use capital funds for this type of infrastructure provision). Where MIGs are efficiently spent, an administration is demonstrating its commitment to providing infrastructure to its poorest residents.

The evidence shows quite clearly that DA-run municipalities place a far greater emphasis on spending these grants than non DA-run municipalities. Consider the following five key facts about Municipal Infrastructure Grants:

One: During the last financial year, a total of 272 municipalities were assigned R8.739 billion in municipal infrastructure grants, of which only R6.575 billion, or 75%, was spent. This means that South African municipalities underspent on MIGs by R2.164 billion last year.

Two: The Democratic Alliance runs 13 municipalities. Our municipalities, along with the Cape Town metro, were allocated a total of R452 million, of which we spent R446 million - a 99% rate of expenditure.

Three: In 12 of our 13 municipalities, 100% of MIG allocations were spent; in contrast, only 34% of non-DA municipalities spent their full allotment.

Four: The average non-DA municipality underspends by R8.4 million. This is 18 times greater than underspending in the average DA municipality.

Five: The national rate of MIG expenditure has declined significantly from 84% in 2007/08 to 75% in 2009/10.

In short, in both percentage and absolute terms, non-DA municipalities are spending less efficiently, while DA-run municipalities are delivering on their mandate to their poorest residents.

Infrastructure Development

Cape Town

The DA's record in the City of Cape Town shows that we put far more emphasis on infrastructure than the ANC, and that our strategy is paying off.

In 2006, we took over from an administration that did little in the way of constructing or maintaining infrastructure. Just before we took over, in September 2005 there were complaints that raw sewage was being pushed out of manholes in the buildings in Cape Town. The Department of Water Affairs found that the council had failed to meet national standards for sewage effluent 25% of the time. A study by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) observed that "by 2006 there was evidence of a systemic failure (of) the water treatment/sewerage system in Cape Town". Infrastructure maintenance was deferred as a matter of course while the ANC was at the helm.

When the DA took over Cape Town, we understood that the City had to invest sizeable resources into infrastructure development. Thus, while the ANC managed to spend only R7 billion on infrastructure from 2001 to 2006, the DA more than doubled this to R15 billion (plus R4 billion for the Cape Town Stadium) from 2006 to 2010.

The DA has continuously ramped up the provision of infrastructure and enhanced maintenance:

• In the last four years, capital expenditure on infrastructure has totalled almost R8 billion - equivalent to 95% of budget allocations.
• The City has increased its operating budget to R11.3 billion in 2011/12 - a 16.7% increase. Funds for repairs and maintenance of infrastructure are being prioritised.
• Electricity has received R826 million, including more than R300 million designated to strengthening the electricity network, and R50 million to electrification for informal areas and backyarders.
• Water and sanitation has received a R707 million capital allocation, and sanitation R55 million. The water demand management strategy over the past five years has led to a 26% saving of unconstrained water demand, which has been acknowledged with a recent award from the SADC Water Demand Management Programme.

In addition, by last year:

• The City provided 100% of formal households with access to basic water and sanitation, and 92.2% with access to electricity.
• The City was awarded the Blue Drop Award for its drinking water quality and received eight Green Drop certificates for management of its wastewater treatment plants.
• On average, one tap has been provided for every 12.6 households, twice as much as the national standard of one tap per 25 households.
• The council has replaced 40 km of old water pipes per year. In contrast, the ANC achieved just 7 km of pipe replacement in its final year of government.

This excludes the extra boost in infrastructure that was the result of the preparation for the FIFA 2010 World Cup. This preparation included:

• Cape Town Stadium - R4.4 billion
• Roads and bridges in the CBD - R298 million
• Green Point Urban Park - R576 million
• Inner-city transport in the form of MyCiTi infrastructure - R42 million
• Infrastructure development in the CBD - R590 million
• Local roads and sports complexes - R513 million
• Upgrades to major roads in the CBD - R1.8 billion
• City-wide public transport infrastructure and non-motorised transport facilities, including major improvements on the Klipfontein Road Corridor and the Mitchell's Plain and Khayelitsha rail corridors - R4.2 billion.
• A world class Transport Management Centre, the first integrated public transport, traffic, safety and security management centre in South Africa, and one of the first of its kind in the world, which was completed in a record time of 18 months at a cost of approximately R165 million.

The City was awarded the Western Cape Regional Award for Excellence in Civil Engineering for 2009 by the SA Institution of Civil Engineering for the world class Hospital Bend Pre-Selection Scheme project. The City has also received acclaim from users and visitors alike for the impressive improvements in non-motorised transport facilities (cycle and pedestrian pathways) city-wide, including low-income residential areas.

In 2008 the City completed its road condition survey, culminating in a "pavement management system" (PMS) that provided real-time information on the condition of each and every road or street in the City and recommendations for maintenance procedures. This allows all ward councillors to be fully acquainted with the status of the roads in his/her ward and it allows proper maintenance and reconstruction funding to be timeously budgeted for each road.

These projects point to the diverse ways in which the city is putting bulk infrastructure into place to provide for long-term development and growth. Transportation, in particular, has been a major item that we are providing for with systematic plans. Electricity and sewerage remain high priorities. And so too does clean drinking water, as monitored through Pressure Management Installation Projects that have given the city significant water savings and reduction in the frequency of mains and connection bursts, water loss and network downtime.

Midvaal and other DA municipalities

The DA's commitment to infrastructure-led growth extends to all the municipalities we govern. When the DA took over Midvaal Municipality in Gauteng 10 years ago, infrastructure had been neglected, people lacked interest in moving there and investors had no confidence in investing there. People queued at the municipal buildings to give their vacant stands back because values were so low that it was not worth paying the monthly rates and taxes on them. Now, after ten years of focusing on building and maintaining infrastructure, previously worthless stands now sell for up to R700 000 and Midvaal has been ranked number one in Gauteng in the province's Quality of Life survey.

The success of infrastructure-led growth continues in Midvaal. The DA administration has:

• Replaced old sewerage pumps, and helped to improve the efficiency of the Meyerton Waste Water Treatment Works
• Upgraded the main electrical substation to double the supply capacity
• Completed the first phase of improving water reticulation along the R59 Industrial Corridor
• Built the new Vaal Marina and Klipriver reservoirs to improve water infrastructure and supply, as well as provision of drinkable tap water to residents.

In the Western Cape, the Mossel Bay Municipality was awarded a Certificate of Excellence for 2010 by the Water Institute of South Africa for its regional waste water treatment plant at Hartenbos. This followed its winning the Department of Water Affairs' National Improvement Excellence Award. It also completed the electrification of dwellings in the Asazani / Izinyoka informal settlement, providing training to 20 local residents in the process. Partly as a consequence of the infrastructure development spearheaded by the DA's Mossel Bay administration, the municipality is thriving and has enjoyed a growth rate of over 7% per annum in recent years.

Elsewhere, we have notched up various other impressive delivery successes:

• In Theewaterskloof, the DA reduced the backlog in water supply from 10% of households in 2001 to 0% in 2010/11.
• In the Eastern Cape, DA-run Baviaans Municipality has eradicated the bucket system, in contrast to many neighbouring municipalities, including Nelson Mandela Bay.
• In Overstrand, the DA-run council built 16 community halls in poor communities and completed the construction of a major relief road to ease traffic congestion.
• In Gauteng, during our short stint governing Nokeng, we managed to upgrade the infrastructure that had been left to decay under the previous administration. A new sewerage works was built, the Refilwe community hall was refurbished and the water and electricity infrastructure was expanded. Around 2,000 RDP houses were built in three years. Subsequently, under the ANC, Nokeng has performed so poorly that it is about to lose its municipal status and be absorbed into the Tshwane Metro.

Attendant to the efficient delivery of infrastructure is a particularly forceful multiplier effect: infrastructure leads to growth, and the more growth that takes place, the more resources are freed up to be spent, both by government and the private sector, on providing yet further infrastructure. For instance, basic infrastructure provides the underlying support structure for small businesses to take root. This not only helps to develop the local community and create jobs, but generates further funds for investment in infrastructure, in the form of taxation and local rates.

Where sound infrastructure is provided, direct investment is also easier to attract. Last year, the City of Cape Town secured a total of R1.716 billion worth of direct investment. Similarly, Midvaal's improving infrastructure standards have helped attract multi million rand job-creating investments from companies such as Heineken, BSI Steel, Basil Read, Ferrero Rocher, Oprah Winfrey's Leadership Academy for Girls and Greg Norman's Eye of Africa Golf Estate.

Energy Efficient Infrastructure

Finally, the DA is making a special effort to ensure that, where infrastructure is delivered, it is sustainable and energy efficient. For instance, DA-run Swartland pioneered an eco-friendly membrane system sewage plant; it also recycles refuse on site, which not only has a positive ecological effect but also creates jobs locally.

The City of Cape Town launched Africa's first Clean Development Mechanism project in Kuyasa informal settlement. This pioneering project made 2 333 households in Kuyasa more energy efficient through the installation of solar water heaters and energy efficient lighting and ceilings. In addition, more than 100 projects across 51 programme areas have been rolled out to make Cape Town a more sustainable city.

The City of Cape Town's broader record on energy-efficient infrastructure delivery is also impressive:

• The City has reduced its energy consumption by 6.77%.
• A third of traffic lights (400 out of 1 400 intersections) have been retrofitted with energy efficient LEDs.
• As of June 2010, 40 000 streetlights have been fitted with energy-efficient high-pressure sodium lamps.
• Four City-owned administrative buildings have been retrofitted with energy efficient equipment.

Conclusion

The DA has proved that where we govern, we deliver a high quality of infrastructure. We have spent 99% of our municipal infrastructure grants, compared to the national average of 75%.  We have delivered basic road, water and sewage infrastructure to local communities. And where we have delivered infrastructure, we have driven greater economic development and job creation.

The DA's record in government is clear: it shows that South Africans have an alternative that can truly deliver.

Statement issued by Lindiwe Mazibuko, DA national spokesperson, April 11 2011

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