The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the City of Tshwane signed a R1.6-billion long-term loan facility on Thursday to support the city’s capital expenditure programme.

This facility aims to accelerate the eradication of backlogs in water and sanitation, roads, electricity and housing-related infrastructure, and support Tshwane’s growth and development initiatives, the DBSA said in a statement. 

“Supporting municipalities to deliver socioeconomic infrastructure remains an important focus area for the DBSA to address the country’s challenges of high unemployment, poverty and inequality,” noted the development finance institution.
 
In the metropolitan municipalities, in addition to providing bilateral loans, the bank participates in public bond-issuance programmes and other funding, including project finance to accelerate the delivery of social and economic infrastructure such as bus rapid transport systems.

Tshwane city manager Jason Ngobeni said the R1.6-billion loan facility would be used to aggressively fast-track the city’s Infrastructure Capital Programme, adding that this was the inaugural 20-year loan tenure for the city, which “remarkably” coincided with the celebration of South Africa’s 20 years of democracy.

DBSA group executive for the South Africa Financing Division TP Nchocho said the facility formed part of the bank’s continuous and accelerated support to municipalities in eradicating infrastructure backlogs.

“Like many other metropolitan municipalities in South Africa, the City of Tshwane has its substantial infrastructure backlogs, which create challenges in facilitating and increasing access to basic services for its constituencies, particularly those in the previously disadvantaged areas.

“We are pleased to be part of this capital expansion programme, which signifies the DBSA’s commitment to contribute towards the development of social and economic infrastructure in Tshwane, which is much needed to improve the quality of life of its 2.9-million residents,” he highlighted.

In ensuring that metropolitan municipalities remain the heartbeat of the country’s economic growth, Nchocho pointed out that the DBSA had embarked on a process to package a comprehensive support programme aimed at addressing each metropolitan’s unique requirements while simultaneously ensuring that the bank delivered on its development mandate.