Poor infrastructure planning and inadequate maintenance are becoming increasingly problematic for new developments and the associated infrastructure required to support such developments.

In many urban and rural municipalities, the state of infrastructure has been allowed to deteriorate significantly. In addition, substantial developments have often been allowed to happen without adequate additional supporting infrastructure.

Infrastructure must be continually improved and maintained to retain its effectiveness and serve its purpose, whether economic or social. Poor maintenance and inadequate planning are leading to massive repair costs. These deficiencies often have a negative effect on the economic benefit of such infrastructure.

This is the view of experienced engineers James Oppenheim and Ric Snowden, who are long-standing directors of consulting firm Arup. They have worked for the company in South Africa, the UK and Mauritius for 42 years and 41 years respectively.

While the technical capacity of an engineer’s clients is important for long-term infrastructure sustainability, the consistent lack of continuity and capacity in government structures, specifically local and urban municipalities, is vastly increasing the costs of infrastructure development. Developers are increasingly being asked to make significant bulk services and road improvement contributions.

“Poor planning and a lack of proper maintenance result in budgets often being used to repair broken or damaged infrastructure, rather than to develop new infrastructure to support the growth of society and its developments proactively. Poor planning also means that plans and solutions to tackle problems are often short-term and ineffective,” notes Oppenheim.

The lack of engineering skills and technical and financial capacity in organisations responsible for providing and maintaining the infrastructure leads to maintenance being neglected or poorly executed because its importance is not recognised, adds Snowden.

“Under such conditions, infrastructure development becomes a burden to both the developer and the local authority and a drag on the economy. The intended benefits of improved infrastructure are not reaped and allocating more funds to fix the problem does not always solve the problem, if poor engineering has been the cause of the problem,” he adds.

There is an affordability tipping point where the repair of damaged and neglected infrastructure becomes prohibitive, and many of South Africa’s municipalities are demonstrating symptoms of this affordability tipping point, says Oppenheim.

The lack of experience and skills in government technical departments urgently needs to be addressed. The ramifications of poor planning, execution and maintenance of our infrastructure will result in an inability to meet future developmental demands, he emphasises.

“Professional civil servants must be in place in the central and local authorities to ensure good planning, quality installations, continuity management, monitoring and oversight. We need planners and engineers in these positions, not politicians or managers, regardless of political vacillations,” Snowden states.

Oppenheim notes that he had to work on several engineering projects in South Africa as part of his initial training as an engineer.

“One of the most amazing things I found when I worked on these projects was the depth of detailed knowledge that all the people, from artisans and public officials to engineers working on the project, had about the project and its importance. They also remained in the industry or rose within government structures, providing the experience to plan and deliver infrastructure development effectively for the future,” he adds.

“Sadly this is not always the case today, and we all need to become more involved in developing the skills required for quality, cost-efficient infrastructure development within both the public and private sectors,” concludes Snowden.