Participants gathered at the monthly Infrastructure Dialogues series at the Development Bank of Southern Africa agreed that while public infrastructure is important, the management of that infrastructure by the local authority was perhaps even more important, and should be built into plans at the initial stages.

The discussion centred on the role of public infrastructure in urban regeneration, and it was highlighted that life cycle costs – operation and maintenance – of infrastructure should be factored in to the development of urban regeneration infrastructure.

Urban management was vital, and when developers were costing and planning a project, operation and maintenance of the asset should always be included, so that it did not become a burden for the municipality responsible, after the handover of the infrastructure.

The local authority would struggle to maintain the infrastructure if it did not derive any income from the infrastructure. It was also suggested that there should be a way of making finance available for maintenance of the infrastructure that development agencies were obliged to deliver for citizens.

Geci Karuri-Sebina, a special adviser to Neighbourhood Development Programme (NDP), a division within the National Treasury, noted that the NDP, which administered grants for infrastructure projects in townships, often received plans for developments that were not accompanied by any plans for operation, or programmes for the use of the infrastructure once built.

She added that “thoughtless” public infrastructure spending was not useful.

“I think that public infrastructure is a critical and necessary, but not sufficient condition to promote urban regeneration. I tend to think, that urban management, the much more boring part of it, is more important,” stressed Trust for Urban Housing Finance (TUHF) CEO Paul Jackson.

He noted that public infrastructure upgrades done by the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) were “critically important”, and directed where TUHF would invest.

Jackson also explained that his company invested in retail space along Rockey and Raleigh streets in Johannesburg when the JDA upgraded the public infrastructure there, however, he said the company was disappointed that hawkers and illegal traders were starting to move back into the street as it was not being properly managed.

Urban Genesis director Graham Reid stated that “it’s not done when it’s built”.

“There are consequences from the investment, often unintended consequences and one needs to manage them, understand them, monitor them, and constantly recapitalise on them,” Reid added.

Poor urban management led to urban decline, which is why constant urban regeneration was required.

“Implementing agencies must also consider their roles as development facilitators,” JDA planning and strategy manager Sharon Lewis emphasised.

By: Christy van der Merwe (04 June 2010)

Edited by: Mariaan Webb