The Institution of Municipal Engineering of South Africa (Imesa) has launched the International Infrastructure Management Manual (IIMM) to assist local government in improving service delivery through municipal asset management.

Endorsed by the South African Local Government Association and the Local Provincial Government, the manual intends to encourage senior management in municipalities to adopt a longer-term approach to managing infrastructure, while also focusing on financial implications and cost effectiveness.

The launch of this international manual came at a time when a recent Imesa study showed that only half of South Africa’s 284 municipalities had formal asset-management practices in place.

Speaking at the IIMM launch, in Midrand, on Friday, Imesa President Tjaart van der Walt said that government has been trying to improve service delivery over the last couple of years, but that poor municipal infrastructure and a lack of skills to maintain it, held back improved service delivery.

He said that this had a negative influence on the quality of life of South Africans as well as on the country’s image and economy and added that it was with this in mind, that Imesa had been working hard on bringing the IIMM manual to the country.

“We are the custodians of infrastructure assets and need to look after it properly, because, if it deteriorates, we will have to account to the next generation,” he said.

Also speaking at the launch, Imesa’s Louis Boshoff said that, although this manual was based on international practices from countries such as the UK and Canada, it also incorporated relevant South African case studies, which summarised the local legislative and policy environment.

He explained that the IIMM included basic asset-management principles and that it illustrated practical steps to implement advanced asset-management systems in an organisation.

Boshoff reported that a Sector Education and Training Authority-accredited training course on infrastructure would accompany the manual.

Information sessions in the major cities across the country will start over the next few weeks and training will start shortly thereafter.

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