THE water crisis, poor roads and a lack of service delivery are due to poor planning by municipalities.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said this during his oral response to the Sona debate on Thursday, 15 February.
He said his government was helping these municipalities and local governments through capacity support to improve their ability to spend grants allocated to infrastructure.
Ramaphosa said the national government was committed to put an end to infrastructure funds being returned to the fiscus unspent.
"I often said, there's no greater sin that we as public representatives and servants can do than to return money to the fiscus when it's been allocated for work that should be done," Ramaphosa said.
He pointed out that the problem exists across the country due to challenges in project planning and preparation.
"I say that must stop. Money must work for what it needs to do," he said.
Ramaphosa acknowledged that people in rural areas still have problems crossing rivers during the rainy season.
"As we seen in videos of children crossing flooded rivers to get to school, has strengthened our resolve to speed up the process of building rural bridges.
"The rural bridges that are built as part of the #Welisizwe programme allow children to get to school safely and enables villagers to reach shops, services and transport easily and quickly," he said.
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Ramaphosa claimed that with all the contributions in the debate, no speaker could refute that the lives of millions of South Africans have changed in the 30 years of freedom.
"Despite everything we've achieved, many South Africans, young and old, are concerned about the state of affairs in our nation."
He said since Covid-19, the government has restored operations on 26 out of 40 commuter rail lines. Ramaphosa said the government also invested in new railway infrastructure and new trains, which are manufactured in Mzansi.
"These trains are built in Ekurhuleni and are rolled out throughout the country. We'll soon be exporting the same trains to other countries on our continent," he said.
Ramaphosa said the government had made progress in the last five years in restoring economic growth and creating jobs.
"We've seen the results of these efforts in the recovery of the economy and the sustained increase in jobs since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. We've seen the results of these efforts in the growth of agricultural exports. South Africa now exports roughly half of its agricultural products in value terms. In 2022, South Africa’s agricultural exports reached a record $12,8 billion (R247 billion)."
He said the country has also seen a massive increase in international tourist arrivals.
"Between January and December 2023, the country recorded 8.5 million international tourist arrivals, a 29% increase on the previous year."
He stressed that access to clean, running water remains one of the biggest challenges for many people. Water infrastructure projects they have focused on in recent years have brought piped water to villages that previously relied on streams and boreholes.
Before concluding his response, he commented on DA leader John Steenhuisen's remarks that Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi had bought 'ill-fitting Pep Stores uniforms' for 'drunkard' crime wardens, also known as amaPanyaza.
“That comment is inherently racist,” said the president.
