Frequent unscheduled power outages, streetlights and traffic lights out of action for months on end, water leaks running unrepaired, sewage spills and underperforming wastewater treatment works — these are among the many indicators that this metro has a crisis of infrastructure’ management. The metro s decaying and dysfunctional infrastructure impacts on the quality and reliability of the basic public services that businesses are entitled to expect, and which they pay for.
This poses a serious risk of economic harm to Nelson Mandela Bay, putting business sustainability, investment attraction and employment at risk.
The root causes are many, some traceable to the political instability and revolving door of coalitions since 2016, resulting in ineffective supply chain management, high levels of vacancies and underspending of budgets.
The 2023/2024 capital budget spend of only 50% with just a month left in the municipal financial year, with a risk of forfeiting R800m in grant funding to the National Treasury, is currently in the headlines.
But this is not a new phenomenon and can’t be put at the door of any single role player, as it is an ongoing annual problem, which in itself is no excuse.
Explanations of procurement delays, stacks of invoices still to be paid before the financial year-end and promises that the final spending figure will be higher, are not sufficient — the system is long overdue for fixing to run efficiently.
The impact, building up over at least the past decade, is the current crisis of infrastructure that is decaying because it is inefficiently managed and insufficiently maintained.
Underspending of budgets for repairs and maintenance, and high levels of vacancies, point to some of the reasons for this.
Chronic underspending of capital budgets translates to a lack of upgrading and expansion of infrastructure systems that is needed to meet the demands of a growing population and increased business activity.
Lack of effective action to protect public service infrastructure in the face of rising vandalism and theft further worsens the crisis.
It is not all doom and gloom, however, as efforts by the business community over the past year or so to bring about collaboration to solve problems, are bearing fruit.
In the face of 83 unplanned electricity outages in the metro’s industrial and commercial areas over the past 18 months, with Struandale particularly badly affected, the business chamber and the municipality have initiated an electricity technical task team to work together on resolving the root causes.
Weekly meetings of the municipality’s electricity directorate senior officials with business representatives with expertise in electricity and engineering, are delivering tangible progress and action on repairs and maintenance that will contribute to reducing unscheduled outages.
The initial focus in Struandale will move out to Kariega and other cluster areas.
We are now putting together a similar team on water infrastructure issues, with the stalling of water leak repairs a key concern.
Similarly, our sanitation task team, working with metro engineers to develop plans and solutions, is making excellent progress in getting the water treatment and sewerage systems working more optimally.
This initiative helped to raise the operating levels of sewage pump stations from 30% in 2022 to 75% in the first quarter of 2024.
Examples such as these are a testament to what is possible if the various stakeholders have the will to work together for the greater good of the metro as a whole.
Similar things can be seen at national level, with significant progress reported recently on the collaboration of organised business with the government to address the national crises in logistics, electricity, and crime and corruption.
In the process, business has deployed over 350 specialists to power stations, Transnet and crime initiatives, racking up close to 7,000 hours — all voluntary, Business for SA reported earlier this month.
Put simply, one could say that business is stepping in with resources of time, skills and technical expertise to help the government address infrastructure shortcomings and spend budgets effectively.
Locally, it has been heartening to see the willingness of municipal officials to work hand-in-hand with engineers and other experts volunteering out of the business community, to share information freely on their challenges and the plans and timing of repairs, maintenance and upgrades, and to work together with the business representatives to develop collaborative solutions.
In times of crisis, it has been shown that we can make progress by putting agendas and narrow interests aside, rolling up our sleeves and working together.
The crisis is not over, and the need for the municipality to improve its capacity and efficiency still remains, but the progress we are seeing through effective collaboration is a ray of hope.
We hope that post the national and provincial elections, there will be an increased focus on stability and an escalated willingness of the various stakeholders to work together to enable our local economy to revive.