SOUTH AFRICA – Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) has committed R131 million over the past 18 months to support local government infrastructure, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson announced at the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa (SIDSSA) 2026.
Macpherson detailed that this commitment includes R9.39 million allocated to package strategic water projects in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape, which carry a combined estimated investment value of approximately R7.3 billion. He cited specific progress in the Matjhabeng Local Municipality in the Free State, where an R1.8 million investment in preparing a nonrevenue water programme successfully unlocked an R800 million debt-financing facility from the Development Bank of Southern Africa.
Through the Presidential Adopt-a-Municipality pilot programme, ISA is currently supporting four municipalities across four provinces. These initiatives are preparing projects designed to unlock approximately R7 billion in investment across water, sanitation, energy, and waste management sectors. Macpherson emphasized that relatively small investments in technical project preparation can unlock hundreds of millions, or even billions, of rands in broader infrastructure investment.
Addressing institutional accountability, Macpherson noted significant progress within the wider Public Works and Infrastructure portfolio. During the first 22 years of the Construction Industry Development Board, only two contractors were removed from its register for fraudulent conduct. In contrast, 52 contractors have been removed in the last 22 months, with additional removals pending.
The Minister stated that the approval to formalize ISA as a public entity is central to the next phase of this work. The government is building a permanent institution to serve as the central point for major infrastructure projects, maintain a credible national pipeline, coordinate approvals, mobilize finance, and support implementation.
“Our responsibility is now to translate that commitment into properly prepared projects, credible procurement processes, active construction sites and functioning infrastructure,” Macpherson said. “Our infrastructure programme must be judged not by the value of its announcements, but by what is financed and built, and delivered to communities.”
He added that SIDSSA 2026 must drive government from stronger preparation to faster implementation, and from national ambition to visible local delivery, converting current progress into financial close, procurement, construction, and ultimately, functioning infrastructure.
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa also addressed the symposium, stating that the infrastructure challenges and opportunities facing municipalities require collaborative action from government, businesses, investors, development finance institutions, technical experts, and communities.
Hlabisa emphasized the need to reimagine municipal trading services and build financially sustainable cities through targeted infrastructure investment. He argued that municipal water, electricity, sanitation, and waste management services must be understood as economic foundations, rather than mere administrative functions.
“When municipal services are consistently reliable, businesses can operate with greater certainty, industries can expand, investors can make long-term decisions and communities can participate more meaningfully in the economy,” Hlabisa said. Conversely, he warned that unreliable services negatively impact investment decisions, business confidence, productivity, employment, property values, and regional competitiveness.
Reimagining municipal trading services, he noted, is fundamentally about reimagining the economic future of South Africa’s municipalities. While acknowledging that millions of households have gained access to basic services since the advent of democracy, Hlabisa stressed that these gains must be protected. The national focus must now shift from merely asking whether infrastructure exists to evaluating whether it is reliable, resilient, financially sustainable, and capable of supporting economic growth.
SIDSSA 2026 is currently underway in Cape Town, attracting more than 1,000 guests, including delegates from neighboring countries. The symposium’s programme is designed to facilitate meaningful dialogue, strengthen partnerships, and create collaboration opportunities among leaders shaping the future of infrastructure development in the region.