The South African government is committed to massively increasing the scale of infrastructure investment in the country, said President Cyril Ramaphosa here Thursday.
CAPE TOWN, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- The South African government is committed to massively increasing the scale of infrastructure investment in the country, said President Cyril Ramaphosa here Thursday.
He made the remarks during an oral reply session at the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), or the upper house of parliament, in Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa. This was his first such session in the NCOP under the government of national unity.
"The development of public infrastructure is necessary for effective service delivery and economic development," said Ramaphosa when briefing the NCOP on various national developments.
"That is why we are determined as this administration to massively increase the scale of investment in infrastructure," he said. "Through this investment, we will turn South Africa into a building site."
The president, however, acknowledged public infrastructure projects that are delayed or abandoned hurt the ability of communities to access services.
To address this challenge, according to him, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) has begun the identification of delayed and abandoned projects within its portfolio during the last administration. "The task of identifying incomplete and abandoned infrastructure projects is being implemented throughout all provinces," he said.
Ramaphosa noted that the DPWI has identified a number of "key pillars" to drive the infrastructure investment process such as institutional arrangements for implementation of the National Infrastructure Plan 2050.
"One of the other pillars is to ensure that there is better preparation and prioritization of infrastructure projects," said the president. "Other proposed reforms include multi-year budgeting for infrastructure planning and delivery, and speeding up permitting and approval processes." ■
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