How to instil pride in
Gauteng MEC for the department of infrastructure development Jacob Mamabolo often scans news channels for any reports on the destruction of public infrastructure. So far, his notebook has remained clean, and it’s his greatest wish that it remains that way for many years to come.
Mamabolo told the Ma i l & Guardian Mo n i t o r F o r u m o n Infrastructured Development in Sandton, Johannesburg recently that the GDID will be escalating efforts to spread the message behind the I Care We Care — Public Property OUR Property campaign.
The campaign seeks to educate communities about the importance of taking ownership and pride in public property such as schools, libraries and clinics, which have in recent years become the target of arsonists and vandals during protests.
Peta de Jager, research group leader in the built environment at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and panellist at the forum, urged the GDID to take action against the burning and destruction of public buildings.
She urged Mamabolo to speed up the visibility of the I Care We Care campaign so that it does not appear to be “empty words that do not touch the people”.
Panellist Xhanti Payi, economist and director at Nascence Advisory and Research, said he shared the department’s vision that infrastructure development is key to driving the economy. However he warned that modernising infrastructure could at times “run the risk of leaving people out and coming across as elitist”.
Payi advised that the GDID ensures that the man in the street can relate to and identify with new developments to instil a sense of ownership and pride in public property.
Development Bank of South Africa executive member Mohan Vivekanandan said proper maintenance and care for infrastructure is critical for foreign investors to perceive a country as a possible investment destination.“Investors are looking for certainty,” he said.
Mamabolo emphasised the importance of The Precinct Project, saying that it will also help the GDID to deal with the shortage of land in Gauteng, which is exacerbated by factors such as dolomitic land and historical damage that resulted from mining.
“Dropping and littering with bricks and mortar doesn’t change apartheid’s spatial planning,” said Mamabolo, adding that the province is conducive to highrise building development due to the scarce availability of land. “Precinct development gives you value all round.”
Xhanti commended the GDID for coming up with The Precinct Project: “We need to find ways of creating i nfrastructure that do not repeat the old ways of development.”