THE Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) plans to help two municipalities in South Africa to restructure their water and electricity tariffs in such a way that nonresidential and high-income users cross-subsidise poor communities.
These are among a few interventions the bank will make as part of an agreement signed with petrochemicals company Sasol. The pact could pave the way for improvements to municipal infrastructure including roads‚ waste-water treatment plants‚ schools and clinics.
Sasol is already investing R800-million in the Free State’s Metsimaholo and Mpumalanga’s Govan Mbeki municipalities where its Sasolburg and Secunda plants are located.
The DBSA’s executive for infrastructure delivery‚ Sinazo Sibisi‚ said the bank would conduct a detailed assessment of each of the two municipalities’ needs. Thereafter‚ it would help to improve the operations and maintenance of infrastructure.
The bank‚ through initiatives such as Siyenza Manje‚ has previously struggled to assist municipalities.
Turf concerns and a lack of political will to implement changes stifled Siyenza Manje.
Through the project‚ the DBSA deployed technical experts to struggling municipalities to assist them with financial and technical support. But its experts offered advice that municipal managers sometimes ignored‚ as they preferred to take the cue from the government rather than the bank.
Sibisi said any intervention required willing partners.
The municipalities were required to display leadership‚ which, with the bank’s support, would increase their chances of success.
Meanwhile‚ Sasol group executive Maurice Radebe said the life of the company’s Secunda and Sasolburg plants would be extended to 2050. This called for a greater investment in nearby communities.
The DBSA ’s role would increase the effect of Sasol’s contribution. Sasol’s approach would be to respond to the needs of the communities.
Metsimaholo mayor Brutus Mahlaku said tackling the infrastructure backlog was one of its biggest difficulties‚ which Sasol had been helping with. The company’s intervention had led to an improvement in road conditions and the establishment of sports facilities and the renovation of a theatre.
In addition‚ the company had built a resource centre for high school tuition and incentivised teachers to tutor during the school holidays with a visible effect on matric results‚ Mahlaku said.
In the Govan Mbeki municipality‚ mayor Lindi Masina said Sasol had fixed sewerage leaks‚ and an upgrade of waste-water treatment works was in the pipeline. It had also built a clinic‚ and funded the replacement of municipal refuse collection vehicles and pothole repairs.
Both mayors have embraced private sector donors‚ saying Sasol had been a willing and effective partner in their work.
Sibisi said that the DBSA would create a centre for excellence in infrastructure delivery. The development bank had begun partnering with mining companies to undertake similar work in communities near mines. — BDLive