Infrastructure maintenance is key to unlocking economic potential

IT was built 79 years ago and it’s still the first point of call for primary health care for the people of Orlando East and its surrounds. But Orlando Clinic in the historic township of Soweto is faced with the challenge of old and crumbling infrastructure. Ceilings, generators, toilets and electrical wiring are in dire need of maintenance. This is the case with many public buildings in Gauteng, which have for years not been maintained adequately. The Gauteng department of infrastructure development (GDID) is championing a project to address the infrastructure maintenance backlog plaguing public facilities.

“That [maintenance] is where as government we have been lagging behind. The drive has been on new construction, new infrastructure delivery and maintenance has been compromised in the main. Some of our schools and health facilities have really deteriorated,” says GDID head of department Bethuel Netshiswinzhe.

He said the approach to maintenance has been largely reactive and conducted in piecemeal fashion, but all this is about to change.

“We need to get to a point where when it comes to maintenance we invest more energy in preventative maintenance. We don’t need to wait for things to break,” says Netshiswinzhe.

GDID MEC Jacob Mamabolo, who recently launched the Maintenance Crack Team — a pilot project at Orlando Clinic — believes maintenance will have positive spinoffs for the economy. The Maintenance Crack Team is already hard at work revitalising the clinic, which was built in 1937 and has not been changed much since, despite the significant population growth in the area over the years.

“If we could raise the bar on maintenance we could create more jobs,” says Mamobolo. Mamabolo is excited about the GDID’s Academy of Excellence, which will be completed early next year. The Johannesburgbased academy will help train artisans and prepare them for the rigours of maintaining public facilities and government property. They will also be empowered to venture out on their own as skilled entrepreneurs.

Mamabolo says Expanded Public Works Programme volunteers and those already participating in government programmes such as learnerships and internships will benefit from the academy. “We have to got to correctly balance infrastructure delivery with [its] maintenance. This is a new narrative that I want to pursue: elevating maintenance to the same strategic level as the building of infrastructure. Maintenance is not a ‘by the way’ issue, it is a strategic thing that can turn the economy around.”