The lack of will and urgency displayed by the ruling party to repair the shambles that is local government in this country is an absolute mystery to me.
I say this because even though the huge focus on attracting inward investment, and mobilising resources behind a massive infrastructure drive occurs at a national level, every single one of those projects will be in some local or district municipality or Metro.
National government does not have the capacity to micromanage each of these projects, nor can they ensure that planning processes (approvals, bulk infrastructure etc. ) do not become roadblocks, because these are local authority competencies.
The parlous state of municipalities in terms of finance and technical capacity is well known, so it is a sad eventuality that projects are going to stumble, and the lofty targets missed.
We have become known as a country of plans, with archives in municipalities, government departments, and SOEs overflowing with dusty plans and turnaround strategies.
The reality is that the quality of our planning processes is, in most instances, world class, but the disjuncture between planning and implementation could not be more stark.
In the odd instance where the technical capacity and financial resources exist to turn plans into reality, the factionalism and gate keeping plaguing the ruling party across this country becomes the next roadblock.
The government is fooling itself if it thinks it can rebuild local government structures while simultaneously managing the infrastructure rollout.
It would be akin to a surgeon attempting knee replacement surgery while a runner is participating in a marathon.
To salvage any hope of achieving even a small percentage of the projects, urgent attention needs to be given to:
• Capacitating, auditing and resourcing technical teams to ensure the required skills are in place
• Ensuring the political principals are unimpeded by vested interests in executing their mandates
• Efficiencies in service delivery are enhanced across structures
• Revenue management, and waste minimisation is prioritised
• Structures not willing to toe the line be placed under central government administration
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