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COMMENTARY: Underspending on repairs and maintenance impacting Joburg infrastructure

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In January 2014, the National Treasury published Municipal Finance Management Act Circular no. 71, which mandated that municipalities allocate at least 8% of the carrying value of their property, plant, equipment, and investment property to repairs and maintenance activities. This directive aimed to ensure that municipalities prioritize the upkeep and preservation of their assets. A civil society group called Organization Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has, through its initiative JoburgCAN, highlighted that the city of Johannesburg consistently under-budgets for essential repairs and maintenance tasks. The city's financial reporting also lacks accuracy and consistency, with significant variations in numbers from year to year without any explanation. JoburgCAN analyzed the city's reported spending on repairs and maintenance from 2014/15 to 2023/24, along with the projected spending for 2024/25. This analysis covered a period of ten years since the Treasury set a standard of 8% for ma
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NEWS: ‘Nature knows best’ for infrastructure

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Nature-based solutions can protect communities from climate change, restore biodiversity, and create more resilient economies.

A report reveals that when nature-based solutions are combined with built infrastructure assets, they influence up to 95% of all UN Sustainable Development Goal targets. It also finds that nature-based infrastructure influences three of the four long-term goals and 70% of the 23 targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework signed in Montreal in 2022.

The report, from the UN Environment Programme, United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and University of Oxford finds that nature-based solutions greatly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that result from the construction and operation of conventional or "grey" infrastructure. They can protect communities from the impacts of climate change, restore biodiversity, and create more resilient economies.

Steven Crosskey, deputy director of UNOPS’ infrastructure and project management group said: "Decisions on infrastructure investments can determine our ability to tackle the triple planetary crises of climate, environment and biodiversity loss. Nature-based solutions provide both human and biodiversity benefits, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

The report calls for cross-sectoral collaboration by policymakers and practitioners to integrate nature into "mainstream" infrastructure planning and design, more data on the long-term performance of nature-based infrastructure, and the development of innovative financing models that can support it.

The Global Infrastructure Hub estimates that meeting the global demand for services by 2040 will require almost $100tr of investment in sustainable infrastructure.

Case study examples of nature in action:

• Managing vegetation naturally under transmission lines in Belgium, has increased biodiversity and will reduce maintenance costs by 1.5 to 4 times over a 30-year period;

• Restoring shoreline coral reefs and mangroves has helped to provide flood protection and livelihood opportunities for more than 8,600 people in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and

• Green roofs have doubled the lifespan of roofs at Chicago O’Hare airport, reducing the need for repair and replacement. 

The source for this hardhatNEWS article is Environment Analyst

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