Minister blames ‘lack of capacity’ for ailing govt infrastructure

As the government struggles to address poor maintenance and shoddy infrastructure at some government-owned buildings, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister, Sihle Zikalala, has blamed a lack of capacity for the problems.

The Minister was speaking at the Young Professionals Seminar in Pretoria, which is aimed at encouraging young professionals including architects, engineers and civil planners, to facilitate the country’s much-need infrastructure solutions.

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As the nation struggles to address increasing levels of criminality, a damning report by the Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police found that poor maintenance and ailing infrastructure at the country’s police stations had led to a decline in overall police morale and performance.

Meanwhile, the Public Works Department continues to struggle to reclaim more than 1 000 illegally occupied buildings in the country’s metros.

Zikhala has blamed a skills shortage in the built environment industry for government’s failures.

He’s further emphasised the need for the department to work alongside law enforcement as it works to reclaim hijacked inner-city buildings and clamp down on notorious construction mafias.

Last year, more than 70 people were killed when a rundown, hijacked Johannesburg building caught fire while construction mafias continue to wreak havoc at the country’s construction sites, demanding money or a stake in development projects.