Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Zweli Mkhize last week announced the appointment of 81 engineers and town planners to assist with infrastructure delivery in 55 struggling municipalities across South Africa.

The appointed staff members include nine provincial managers, 36 civil engineers, 14 electrical engineers, 16 town and regional planners, and seven experienced candidate civil engineers, who are in the process of completing their professional registration.

This technical support programme, to help municipalities spend their infrastructure allocations wisely, will run to the end of April 2021.

The programme forms part of Mkhize’s three-pronged intervention programme to shape up municipalities in terms of governance and administration, financial management and service delivery – these aspects involve the infrastructure development arm of Cogta’s intervention programme.

Earlier this year, the Minister indicated that only 7% of the country’s municipalities were classified as well functioning, 31% as reasonably functional, 31% as almost dysfunctional and the remaining 31% as dysfunctional.

During an event hosted by Cogta last week, Mkhize said the technical experts would work with the governance and financial management experts to be appointed by the department.

The teams are expected to build permanent capacity in municipalities beyond project implementation.

To improve monitoring, Cogta will deploy information and communication technology to assist in the detection of issues and the solving of problems arising from infrastructure and service delivery.

“We want to build functional municipalities. Functional municipalities are well-managed and deliver the basic services, including healthy, potable and high-quality drinking water, good roads, a clean environment, working streetlights and an efficiently run administration with good governance and no corruption.

“We are determined to build such municipalities,” Mkhize affirmed.

Misa Strategic Projects

In the Eastern Cape, the first focus of the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (Misa), Cogta’s implementing agent, includes the installation of boreholes; the construction of the Mpame bridge; the provision of water reticulation at Nkantolo village, in the Mbizana municipality; the rehabilitation of roads in the Makana municipality; the rehabilitation of the R63 in the Amahlathi municipality; the upgrading of roads in the Matatiele municipality; and the implementation of a comprehensive infrastructure masterplan in Makana.

In KwaZulu-Natal, Misa will first target drought boreholes in Newcastle, as well as the construction of 24 boreholes in Ward 1 and Ward 21, the Enyathi Bhokwe water project and the Bhokwe sewer reticulation.

In the Free State, Misa will refurbish a borehole in Kopanong, establish a landfill site and cemetery for the Mafube municipality and undertake a conditions assessment on Matjhabeng.

Further, it will rehabilitate the Dullstroom sewer pumpstation, in Mpumalanga, and sink boreholes in various municipalities.

For Limpopo, there are pipe and pump replacements planned in Kampelsrus and Sedawa, as well as the Elias Motsoaledi energy masterplan. In Thabazimbi, the Northam Extension 20 establishment will be planned. There is also an integrated waste management plan earmarked for Fetakgomo-Tubatse.

Various boreholes will be refurbished and equipped in the North West, including in the Ditsobotla and Kagisano municipalities. The Madibeng electricity masterplan will also be implemented.

Boreholes are planned for Richtersveld, Kamiesberg, Khai Ma, Hantam, Siyathemba and Ubuntu, in the Northern Cape.