Revamping SA's infrastructure: Solutions for a crumbling system

SOUTH Africa's deteriorating infrastructure is crying out for intervention, with the Financial and Fiscal Commission calling for a complete rework of the country's fragmented public-private partnership (PPP) framework to unlock desperately needed investment.

- NICOLA MAWSON

WATER and energy infrastructure should be prioritised as sectors with the greatest impact on growth and sustainable development.

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The commission has recommended that the ministers of Finance and Public Works and Infrastructure replace the current disjointed PPP system with a clear, unified framework that distinguishes PPPs from traditional procurement and establishes transparent risk-sharing rules.

Despite PPPs being employed since the 1980s, uptake has declined significantly, dropping from R10.7 billion in 2011/12 to just R7.1bn in 2022/23.

This worrying trend has raised urgent questions about how to reignite infrastructure's role in economic growth while strengthening the contribution of public-private partnerships.

"The key finding is that PPPs are poorly defined in legislation," said Gianni Delle Donne, researcher at the Financial and Fiscal Commission, in a briefing on the division of revenue for the 2026/27 financial year.

"Unless PPP regulations are clarified and strengthened, private sector participation will remain limited, and government will carry unsustainable risks," she said.