KwaZulu-Natal Public Works and Infrastructure MEC Martin Meyer
Mayor of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, Cyril Xaba
Speaker of the eThekwini Municipality, Mr. Thabani Nyawose
Members of the eThekwini Municipality Executive Committee
Honourable Kohler-Bernard Mp
eThekwini Councillors
Dr. Michael Sutcliffe - Former City Manager and Leader of the eThekwini Task Team
Durban Chamber of Commerce President - Mr. Prasheen Maharaj
Business people and partners present here today
State officials
Members of the media

And all honoured guests.

Today marks a historic moment for the City of eThekwini and the KwaZulu-Natal as this is the first concrete step we are taking towards fixing this great city, and restoring it to its rightful place. Today, we are showing the residents of the city that we are no longer talking, but we are taking decisive action towards unlocking economic growth and creating jobs in eThekwini and the greater KwaZulu-Natal.

This will be the first time in history that any such action is being taken and marks a sharp ideological shift of what has been done in the past.

Today also marks the culmination of four months of hard work by officials in the national department of Public Works & Infrastructure, Provincial Department of Public Works & Infrastructure and the City of eThekwini towards signing the Memorandum Of Understanding between the three spheres of government to work closer together to optimise state assets in the city.

In this regard, I need to applaud the leadership of MEC Martin and Mayor Xaba who played an instrumental role in making this happen. I also want to acknowledge the technical engagements that have taken place between our spheres led by Mr. Sibande.

We have put our ideological differences aside, and decided to do what is in the best interest of the residents of eThekwini and the greater KwaZulu-Natal.

It is only because we have decided to work together, that we are able are able to take this historic and first-of-its-kind action we are taking today.

Tonight is a good example to all of us what can be achieved when we work together towards the common good of our people.

It is this kind of action which is possible under the new spirit of collaboration under the Government of National Unity.

Ladies and gentlemen,

And, as we have seen in the video just shown, officials in the three spheres of government have also worked tirelessly to identify a number of properties within the city which will soon be released for Requests for Proposal.

This will allow the private sector, other state agencies, or nonprofit agencies to engage us with ideas on how to utilize these properties towards truly benefitting the people of eThekwini either through repurposing or redevelopment.

The days of state buildings standing empty, attracting crime to communities and chasing away investment is coming to an end.

The days of the state hanging onto properties it doesn't need - or is unable to maintain - is coming to an end.

This is indeed a big policy shift and gives truth to our vision to use public assets for public good.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Shortly after I was appointed as Public Works & Infrastructure Minister in July, I vowed that we will need to start using public assets for the public good, and we need to turn South Africa into a construction site.

This was part of my greater vision that the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure shouldn't simply be managing properties across the country, but should be turned into an economic delivery unit for South Africa.

And, the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure will be an economic delivery unit if we manage to attract additional infrastructure investment to South Africa which will undoubtably grow the economy and create thousands of new jobs.

But do not take my word for it. Research from international institutions such as the World Bank, McKinsey Global Institute, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that state efforts to increase infrastructure investment by 1% can contribute to domestic economic growth of between 0.4% and 3% - a goal we are dedicated to achieving.

Practically speaking, to turn South Africa into a construction means that we manage to get additional shovels into the ground, and cranes into the sky.

We are working to make Infrastructure South Africa, or ISA, a central point for all large scale construction projects in South Africa. ISA not only expedites the implementation of catalytic infrastructure projects by removing any red-tape or bureaucracy, but also ensures that infrastructure projects are implemented.

As part of the work we are doing, last month, we unveiled a first-of-its kind project preparation financing for projects values over R1 billion to ensure that projects are successfully implemented. This is in response to both public and private sector complaints that project preparation is one of the key impediments to infrastructure projects being launch.

I believe that eThekwini is ripe for infrastructure projects in conjunction with ISA where we can work together to leverage Municipal Infrastructure grant funding to deliver much needed projects on time and on budget.

Infrastructure South Africa has also developed an infrastructure pipeline valued at over R64 billion in the country which covers critical sectors such as housing, water, logistics and energy.

And in the weeks and months ahead, Infrastructure South Africa will keep expanding and adding to the Infrastructure pipeline as we turn our vision of turning the country into a construction site into a reality.

One of the key areas for reform we are working on is the financing and funding of infrastructure projects in South Africa. As we heard from Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana last week, South Africa simply doesn't have the funding available to unleash a wave of infrastructure investment in South Africa.

We therefore welcome the announcements by the Finance Minister that reforms are underway to make it easier for the private to invest and play a role in infrastructure investment by, among others, reforming the regulations for Private-Public Partnerships and allowing the state to stand as guarantee to make it more attractive for the private sector to invest,

A key element to attracting additional infrastructure investment to South Africa is using public assets for public good. It is common knowledge that the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure is the largest property owner in the country. However, for too long we have allowed these assets to sit idle, to be neglected or, even worse, to be hijacked.

I am committed to turning this situation around. I want to ensure that our public assets serve the public good, that they generate an income, or where they are not required, that they are sold.

One of the steps we are taking in this regard is thinking about how we can reform the Property Management Trading Entity (PMTE) into a proper property company which will manage state properties in such a way that they generate a revenue. State properties can be rented out to the private sector, or in collaboration be refurbished.

If these state properties start generating an income, it will enable the department to have more funds available to maintain and build new schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructure across the country.

Imagine the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure, which currently has billions in overdrafts, no longer become a drain on the state fiscus but is able to generate income towards building more social infrastructure to serve communities most at need.

This will mark a sharp departure to what has been done in the past where the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure hangs onto properties that are not being utilised.

Ladies and gentlemen, this brings me to why we are here today.

Roughly two months ago, we publicly announced that the department will be forming a technical task team with the City of eThekwini to tackle problem buildings across the city.

We wanted the task team to identify the problem buildings across the city, and start working together to find solutions for these properties across the city.

The provincial department of Public Works & Infrastructure soon joined us on this mission.

The video of properties listed you have seen earlier is the culmination of the work this task team have been doing.

And soon, these properties will be released for requests for proposals to help us find solutions on how we should use them.

Imagine properties such as the Police Barracks in the Durban Waterfront no longer standing empty and being an eyesore, but either being used to by a state agency who needs it, or by the private sector who refurbished it into housing.

Imagine the former hijacked Excelsior Court in the Berea no longer forcing residents to be hostages in their homes, but rather a modern residential development that generates rates for the city and a building that takes pride of place in the community.

Imagine the number of historic buildings either owned by the national or provincial department, or the city, being repaired through a partnership with the private sector and used for both public and commercial users.

This is the first time this would ever be done in the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure, and will soon be replicated countrywide.

And, this is a strong signal to the property and private sector, not only in KwaZulu-Natal, but across the country, that we are putting words into action.

Today shows you how serious we are about crowding in private sector investment into state assets.

The opportunities are truly boundless.

And this is what we mean when we say public assets for the public good.

Instead of communities complaining about public property in their areas, public property is used to attract additional investment and activity.

And with additional investment and activity means a more attractive community, economic growth and, most importantly, more jobs which are so desperately needed.

And, as many of you in this room will know, more investment to specific areas often unlocks even more investment which creates a cycle of sustained property growth in the growth.

This is also how we contribute to our working relationship with Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa, or FEDHASA, to assist in the tourism recovery in the province.

After a series of headwinds following the riots and flooding, the three spheres of government are taking action to turn a new leaf in the province.

We are no longer going to see empty and neglected buildings which attracts crime, but we will start to see beautifully maintained public buildings which is utilised by the private or public sector which drives investment and creates jobs.

This is how we turn the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure into the economic delivery unit of South Africa.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The MOU we are signing today is to formalise this working relationship between the three spheres of government as we work closer to achieving a common goal to improve the lives of our people.

In this regard, I want to thank MEC Martin, Mayor Xaba and their officials who have played an important role in getting us to where we are today.

We are collectively charting a new way forward towards us using turning South Africa into a construction site, and using public assets for the public good.

And this is in line with the newfound enthusiasm of the Government of National Unity to work with all stakeholders in society to address the biggest social ills we are facing.

As I have said before, I have no doubt that we can overcome the greatest challenges facing our society if we work together.

Time and time again, South Africans have shown that we are stronger together.

But, to be successful, dialogue and compromise is required.

I am truly excited about the prospects of this new partnership and look forward to building on this momentum to address other infrastructure issues facing the province.

Step by step we are starting to bring change the communities in eThekwini, in KwaZulu-Natal and in South Africa.

Across the country, we are starting to see green shoots of the innovative interventions we are implementing.
We are entering the era of building a better country for our people.

And I look forward to building that future with you. Let us join hands and Build South Africa together.

Let us build South Africa.

Thank you.

Ends

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