There is no question that the deterioration, even collapse, of municipal infrastructure lies at the heart of the recent surge in service delivery protests, which have, sadly, been characterised by loss of life, destruction of property and violence.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Lechesa Tsenoli acknowledged as much in a recent statement, when he indicated that the protests had arisen as a result of “poor or no service delivery”, as well as alleged corruption, in the areas of water, housing, sanitation and electricity.

For this reason, the proposal by Consulting Engineers South Africa (Cesa) that a dedicated fund be created to support the maintenance of municipal infrastructure is surely worth considering.

In an address last week, Cesa president Abe Thela argued that the premature failure of infrastructure as a result of poor maintenance was placing pressure on already strained municipal budgets. “Costs associated with maintenance are a fraction of reconstruction costs once the infrastructure has collapsed,” he stressed.

In addition, the failures are leading not only to a disruption of services that have so enraged certain communities, but also to contributing to decline in investor confidence.

The fund concept will be canvassed initially with the South African Local Government Association, but Cesa has indicated that it should probably be capitalised primarily through government fiscal resources.

The organisation, whose 500 member firms are involved in the design and implementation of public and private infrastructure projects, has also appealed for greater priority to be given to the staffing of municipal maintenance teams with experienced technicians. In addition it has offered the prevailing spare capacity of its members and their 24 000-plus employees to close the immediate gaps.

It is far from clear whether a separate fund is the most appropriate remedy. Indeed, under normal circumstances, it is surely prudent for ongoing maintenance resources to be factored in upfront so as to guarantee that the infrastructure investment is sustainable.

In addition, it is not at all obvious from where Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan can be expected to secure such resources, particularly in light of South Africa’s weak growth prognosis. Weak gross domestic product growth means weak revenue growth. And in the context of commitments to fiscal consolidation, weak revenue growth will mean that there will be little or no money available for new initiatives.

Nevertheless, given that certain parts of South Africa find themselves in deep crisis, it is perhaps worth using the concept of a new fund as a catalyst for a broader conversation on service delivery. But, given the very real financial constraints facing government, that conversation should pay as much, if not more, attention to what can be done to improve management systems and ensure value for money as it pays to securing fresh capital flows.