Supporting under-resourced municipalities in improving infrastructure planning to ensure the sustainability of service delivery to communities
DBSA has supported over 20 under-resourced municipalities in developing proper municipal infrastructure plans such as master plans in water, sanitation, electricity, roads and stormwater as well as for other infrastructure investments.
The dearth of critical skills in under-resourced municipalities often leads to inadequate infrastructure plans. The absence of, or poor-quality plans, affect the quality of municipal services provided to communities in various ways. Poor planning may erode the potential impact of a project and as a result service delivery challenges persist. The DBSA’s non-lending support plays a crucial role in ensuring that the R45+ billion allocated to under-resourced municipalities by National Government through various municipal infrastructure grants is invested well. The Bank assists by directing government funding to high priority projects through the improvement of municipal infrastructure planning, making sure that municipalities prioritise high development impact projects.
The DBSA supports under-resourced municipalities through the Development Expenditure Subsidy in the form of grants. Over the past 5 years, more than R50 million has been disbursed in support of under-resourced municipalities in the form of grants. Over R18 million of this was disbursed during the year under review. We plan to disburse a further R30 million in the upcoming financial year. Through this subsidy, the DBSA has supported over 20 under-resourced municipalities in developing proper municipal infrastructure plans such as master plans in water, sanitation, electricity, roads and stormwater as well as for other infrastructure investments.
Through infrastructure planning, the DBSA aims to identify critical projects that seek to improve the socio-economic circumstances of our communities, thereby creating a project pipeline for preparation and funding. The non-lending support provided by the DBSA assists beneficiary municipalities in improving project identification, prioritisation, alignment, integration and budgeting. The funds unlocked for infrastructure development, as a result, will change the quality of life in communities.
During the year under review, the DBSA catalysed infrastructure to the value of over R1 billion through infrastructure planning non-lending support.
The DBSA provided R7.83 million worth of non-lending support to 86 projects in six municipalities. We also catalysed R1 136 million for the implementation of these project. These funds were mainly in the form of conditional grants such as the Municipal Infrastructure Grant and the Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG). As a result of our efforts to crowd-in funds, for every R1 million expended by the DBSA in providing the non-lending support, an amount of R145 million was catalysed for infrastructure development in the supported municipalities.
DEVELOPING A SCALABLE SOLUTION FOR EFFICIENT SERVICE DELIVERY
The DBSA has been appointed as an implementing agent for the District Development Model. This comprises a programmatic approach that will streamline and accelerate service delivery in 44 districts and 8 metros across South Africa. The model will transform the way local government works and interacts for the benefit of South Africans. By improving cooperation between local, provincial, and national government the model will enhance the efficiency and effectiveness in the implementation of government programmes.
The DBSA will establish and resource the Program Coordinating Office including the development of the information management system for the monitoring and reporting on the roll out of the model. The project includes the establishment of a Program Implementation Unit as well as the setting up of District Hubs in three pilot sites. Drawing on its expertise in the municipal space and experience in developing scalable, replicable solutions, the Bank will participate in the development of a single spatially integrated government plan. This One Plan will guide strategic investment spending, project delivery across government, and form the basis for accountability and monitoring of the development impact.
through infrastructure planning non-lending support.
worth of non-lending support provided by the DBSA to 86 projects in six municipalities.
catalysed by DBSA 136 million for the implementation of these projects. These funds were mainly in the form of conditional grants such as the Municipal Infrastructure Grant and the Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG). As a result of our efforts to crowd-in funds, for every R1 million expended by the DBSA in providing the non-lending support, an amount of R145 million was catalysed for infrastructure development in the supported municipalities.