CoGTA Deputy Minister Lament failure of some municipalities in spending their Municipal Infrastructure Grants

Posted: 14 June 2018

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CoGTA Deputy Minister Andries Nel says CoGTA is concerned by the failure of many municipalities to spend their Municipal Infrastructure Grants (MIG) which impacts directly on the poorest and most vulnerable citizens’ access to housing, water, sanitation and roads.

Deputy Minister Nel was addressing the SALGA Municipal Innovative Infrastructure Financing Conference. He applauded SALGA for taking the initiative of organising the conference.

He said last month his department held a Budget Vote for the Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and one of the key challenges highlighted was the lack of spending on municipal infrastructure.

“If South Africa is to raise the pace at which our economy grows and eliminate the legacies of apartheid, we must fix municipalities, in particular their ability to build and maintain infrastructure,” he said.

He said national government transfers more than R40 billion annually to municipalities to assist them fund infrastructure investment however, this is not enough to meet the infrastructure requirements.

“So, municipalities must add to this pot of money by increasing the share of resources they generate on their own. I hope that this conference will help municipalities identify ways of sustainably raising finance to invest in much needed infrastructure, and in the refurbishment of existing, infrastructure,” he said.

Deputy Minister Nel said investment by municipalities in the building of new and maintenance of existing infrastructure can contribute to faster economic growth. He said faster economic growth, on the other hand, will also make it relatively easier for municipalities to fund long-term investments that are required to improve infrastructure networks.

He said the conference provided an opportunity for the private sector and government, as well as other stakeholders, to exchange ideas on how we can work together to reform the current system of infrastructure funding.

“We hope that government, the private sector and other stakeholders can work together to reposition municipalities as co-drivers of economic development and growth,” Deputy Minister Nel said