(AsgiSA) Annual Report 2008 - South African Government Information
(AsgiSA) Annual Report 2008 - South African Government Information
(AsgiSA) Annual Report 2008 - South African Government Information
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for <strong>South</strong> Africa<br />
ANNUAL REPORT<br />
<strong>2008</strong><br />
DWAF (<strong>2008</strong>), Service Delivery: A Five-Year Rreview 2004 to Date, presentation to Parliamentary<br />
Committee on Water and Forestry Affairs by Director-General Ms Pam Yako, 21<br />
October <strong>2008</strong>.<br />
http://www.pmg.org.za/files/docs/081021dwaf.ppt<br />
The financing of such services has largely been through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant<br />
(MIG) and three important policy concerns have emerged recently around planning, financing<br />
and operational efficiency of water and sanitation infrastructure.<br />
Municipalities plan for such services through their integrated development plans (IDPs).<br />
The IDPs are often not in alignment with the plans of other spheres, including those related<br />
to overall water supply, housing, roads and transport 3 . The increasing dependence<br />
on grant financing, coupled with an apparent lack of sustainability of the way such services<br />
are financed is also of concern. This problem is interlinked with the general poor state of<br />
efficiency of operation and maintenance of water and sanitation systems and associated financial<br />
management systems 4 . In fairness to municipalities, the sheer scale of infrastructure<br />
required to eradicate water and sanitation backlogs have led to a focus on extending service<br />
coverage with a corresponding neglect of sound maintenance of both new and existing<br />
schemes, thereby eroding their asset base and compromising revenue generation. Measures<br />
being taken to address this include:<br />
• from <strong>2008</strong>, National Treasury intended to adopt a differentiated approach towards different<br />
sized municipalities, increasingly targeting smaller and weaker municipalities, with<br />
greater infrastructure backlogs and lower capacities through a differentiated MIG programme<br />
• expanding capacity-support measures such as the DBSA’s Siyenza Manje, which deploys<br />
expert teams into municipalities requiring technical support, together with initiatives to<br />
increase the capacity of municipalities to sustain the short-term gains made during the<br />
Siyenza Manje initiative<br />
• the National Integrated Maintenance Strategy (NIMS) is being implemented by the Department<br />
of Public Works (DPW)<br />
• implementing recommendations emerging from the National Spatial Development Per-<br />
5<br />
WRC (2006), From Crisis to Compliance, Water Research Commission<br />
6<br />
DBSA (<strong>2008</strong>), Infrastructure Barometer <strong>2008</strong>.<br />
7<br />
DBSA (<strong>2008</strong>), Infrastructure Barometer <strong>2008</strong>.<br />
8<br />
See, <br />
for example, the recommendations made by the Fiscal and Finance Commission in National Treasury (2009), Budget<br />
Review. p.209.<br />
50