Corruption is one of the key factors that turn infrastructure projects into deserted sites, — hindering effective service delivery and economic development, President Cyril Ramaphosa says on Thursday.
He told a sitting of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) that as the government begins to increase the scale of investment in infrastructure, addressing corruption and other key challenges will be a focus in various reforms.
“Some of the reasons have to do with corruption. We need to go to the root cause of the abandonment of all the projects that lie as sore thumbs throughout the landscape of this country. It is a very sorry sight. Some of them are just foundations, slabs where houses were supposed to rise, and not much has been done,” he said.
Ramaphosa assured NCOP member some projects abandoned due to corruption have been dealt with by “the commission of state capture, some by the Special Investigating Unit while others are already being prosecuted”.
He added: “There are individuals who embarked on these projects fraudulently, and they are now facing the might of the law. So we are saying things are going to move forward, and we are going to ensure those who are responsible for any act of corruption in the infrastructure space will be investigated.”
Stamping out corruption key in driving infrastructure success — Ramaphosa
Reporter
Image: GCIS
Corruption is one of the key factors that turn infrastructure projects into deserted sites, — hindering effective service delivery and economic development, President Cyril Ramaphosa says on Thursday.
He told a sitting of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) that as the government begins to increase the scale of investment in infrastructure, addressing corruption and other key challenges will be a focus in various reforms.
“Some of the reasons have to do with corruption. We need to go to the root cause of the abandonment of all the projects that lie as sore thumbs throughout the landscape of this country. It is a very sorry sight. Some of them are just foundations, slabs where houses were supposed to rise, and not much has been done,” he said.
Ramaphosa assured NCOP member some projects abandoned due to corruption have been dealt with by “the commission of state capture, some by the Special Investigating Unit while others are already being prosecuted”.
He added: “There are individuals who embarked on these projects fraudulently, and they are now facing the might of the law. So we are saying things are going to move forward, and we are going to ensure those who are responsible for any act of corruption in the infrastructure space will be investigated.”
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One of those reforms, Ramaphosa said, includes a procurement process and the involvement of the co-operative governance and traditional affairs department, that will strengthen local government “to close all loopholes for those who may want to be fraudulent and execute acts of corruption”.
Other reforms include mechanisms at an executive level to monitor progress on identified projects such as the Siyahlola programme. “In this programme, site visits are conducted to check the status and plans to complete outstanding work. Follow-up visits are also conducted after a few months to ensure recovery plans are being implemented.
“The Siyahlola programme is also bringing stakeholders, such as local and district municipalities, together to unblock any issues related to bulk infrastructure and outstanding approvals.”
Ramaphosa said other proposed reforms include multiyear budgeting for infrastructure planning and delivery, and speeding up permitting and approval processes. “The task of identifying incomplete and abandoned infrastructure projects is being implemented throughout all provinces,” he said.
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