Proactive asset management and fiscal discipline key to municipal delivery

Attended by more than 500 delegates, the 85th IMESA Conference brought together industry experts from South Africa and across the world to share their knowledge, experiences and insights on the pressing challenges facing municipal engineering – under the theme, ‘Adapting to our Changing World’. By Alastair Currie

Proactive asset management

and fiscal discipline key to municipal delivery

Sibusiso Mjwara, IMESA President for 2022-2024 Jacob Mamabolo, MEC for Finance, Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG), was the keynote speaker at the opening function on Tuesday evening, setting the scene for the conference, which ran from Wednesday 2 through to Friday 4 November 2022. MEC Mamabolo has a keen understanding of infrastructure’s crucial role in rebuilding the economy and creating jobs in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, having held previous GPG positions that include MEC for Infrastructure Development and MEC for Roads and Transport. Gauteng represents the economic heart of South Africa and is also home to three of the largest municipalities, namely Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Tshwane. “Historically, Gauteng was founded on the discovery of gold in 1886. However, with gold mining no longer the mainstay of the economy, diversification into new industries like green hydrogen and electric vehicles is essential in terms of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, where engineers are central to finding smart, green solutions,” said Mamabolo.

“In the context of climate change, and the recent spate of severe floods and extended droughts in South Africa, engineers need to respond to a future full of unknown variables with innovative ideas. From government’s side, we need to invest more in infrastructure, and in parallel tackle the issue of corruption, and poor-quality construction,” Mamabolo continued.

“To achieve this, we need the support of built environment associations like IMESA to ensure that all registered professionals adhere to the highest code of conduct, and that infrastructure projects are delivered on time, within budget and to the highest

From left are Visvin Reddy, board member, Umgeni Water (Gold Sponsor); Ville Alatyppö, vice-president, IFME; Sibusiso Mjwara, 2022-2024 president, IMESA; David Jenkins, keynote speaker and CEO of the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia; Scott Grayson, CEO of the American Public Works Association; and Mthobeni Kolisa, chief officer: Infrastructure Services, Spatial Transformation and Sustainability at SALGA

standards. It’s also essential that every municipality has an experienced team of in-house engineers to ensure effective service delivery,” he added.

Capacity building, proactive infrastructure asset management, procurement and supply chain management, financial discipline, spatial planning, and re-engineering in the face of environmental impacts like extreme weather were common themes throughout the conference presentations. (The papers can be downloaded at www.imesa.org.za/ conference-2022.)

Among the highlights were international presentations from the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA), as well as the American Public Works Association (APWA). The event was also attended by board members from the International Federation of Municipal Engineering (IFME), with an address given by Ville Alatyppö, vicepresident, IFME.

Handing over of the presidential chain

The opening function marked the end of the 2020-2022 term for the outgoing IMESA president, Bhavna Soni, deputy head: Water and Sanitation at eThekwini, who handed over the chain of office for the 2022-2024 period to Sibusiso Mjwara, GM: Special Projects at Umgeni Water.

“As IMESA, our goal is to support our members across South Africa’s 257 municipalities to make engineering projects effective and efficient, which is vital for South Africa’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan,” said Soni. “In this respect, effective coordination within the three tiers of government is essential to fund and enable a municipally engineered response. This has been well illustrated by the emergency repairs required following the Durban floods. Essentially, we need to find the gaps and close them, which is where our annual IMESA conference provides the perfect platform for knowledge sharing, as well as robust debate between public and private sector stakeholders,” said Soni.

“It’s been an honour to serve as IMESA’s first woman president and to hand over the baton to Sibusiso in taking forward IMESA’s mandate,” Soni concluded.

Mjwara is a seasoned municipal engineer with extensive infrastructure project experience. “As the incoming president, I would like to acknowledge Bhavna for her commitment and contribution, and congratulate the new IMESA Council and Exco elected for 2022-2024. Alongside the key IMESA initiatives already in the pipeline, one of my personal objectives as president is the ongoing professionalisation of the municipal engineering sector, especially among young engineers,” said Mjwara.

IFME

In his address at the conference, Ville Alatyppö, vice-president, IFME, stressed that expertise and knowledge sharing are crucial in engineering solutions that preserve the earth for future generations. He currently holds the position of director: Street and Park Maintenance for Helsinki, Finland. He is also a board member of the Nordic Road Association, CEO of the Finnish Association of Municipal Engineering, and chairman of the Finnish Asphalt Association.

“IFME was formed in 1960, some 15 years after the Second World War, to help rebuild the world. Now climate change presents us with a whole new set of challenges, and we need to find the answers together,” said Alatyppö.

“In this respect, we were recently pleased to welcome Ethiopia and Mexico as new

Jacob Mamabolo, MEC for Finance, Gauteng Provincial Government, was the keynote speaker at the opening function

Bhavna Soni, outgoing president, IMESA, together with Geoff Tooley, Exco member, IMESA – both professional engineers working for the eThekwini Municipality. Tooley won the Best Paper Award for an IMESA member members, as we continue to expand the IFME network. Our relationship with South Africa is longstanding and we value their membership and involvement.”

One of the key benefits of being part of IFME is the exchange of best practices. While each country has its own set of challenges, common threats like climate change are universal.

SALGA

As in the rest of the world, establishing a coherent roadmap in South Africa depends on strategic local partnerships. Among the most important for IMESA is its engagement with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA). It’s a two-way exchange that has become even more vital as infrastructure deficiencies within some municipalities reach crisis proportions.

“IMESA has a major role to play in the rollout of the National Infrastructure Plan 2050, particularly Phase 2, which focuses on ‘distributed infrastructure’ within the municipal arena, as well as the effectiveness of Expanded Public Works Programmes,” said Mthobeni Kolisa, chief officer: Infrastructure Services, Spatial Transformation and Sustainability at SALGA.

“Municipal engineers will also be actively involved in terms of how towns and cities adapt to the Just Energy Transition as South Africa progressively moves away from a reliance on coal-fired thermal electricity to renewable and allied energy infrastructure,” Kolisa continued.

“Another key issue is the need to engage on the installation of intelligent infrastructure, and not just as a climate mitigation strategy. We need to combat the issue of non-payment for services like water and electricity, as well as safeguard our current and future infrastructure investments against theft and vandalism. The implementation of the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act (No. 8 of 2019) is part of that process.

“In all areas, SALGA wishes to actively engage with IMESA to guide local government on the best possible engineering implementation of future infrastructure policy initiatives,” Kolisa concluded.

This year’s conference featured a Knowledge Bar, enabling delegates to engage one-on-one with industry experts

BEST STAND AWARDS:

Single Stand: Gabion Baskets Double, Triple or Larger: Water Research Commission

BEST PAPER AWARDS:

IMESA Member: Paper 7 – Geoff Tooley, ‘A transformative riverine management program: A business case for a nature based adaptation program to protect city infrastructure and so much more…’ Non-IMESA Member: Paper 2 – Tjeerd Driessen, ‘Qualitative flood risk assessments for 3 townships in Johannesburg using high resolution modelling’

An Australian perspective

Sharing an Australian perspective, David Jenkins, CEO of IPWEA, addressed delegates with a presentation entitled, ‘Climate Change, Technology and Stewardship – Adapting Infrastructure Assets for a Changing World’.

One of Jenkins’ main thrusts was on the need to factor in infrastructure adaptation in line with trends like demographics, the internet of things, urbanisation, and the ‘work from home’ culture induced by the Covid-19 lockdowns.

“Most countries around the world have short-term political cycles, while engineers need to think long term from an infrastructure planning perspective, and more so now because of climate change,” commented Jenkins, referring to recent widespread incidences of floods and bush fires in Australia that will influence future rebuild initiatives and designs.

Similar to South Africa, Australia has three spheres of government, namely federal, state and local government. As Jenkins pointed out, this can result in disconnects in infrastructure strategies.

By way of example, he said that recent bush fires in Australia had affected two states, resulting in extensive infrastructure damage, including the loss of overhead powerlines. During the rebuild, one state reinstated the powerlines with timber poles, and the other with precast concrete poles. “Clearly, the latter is more resilient in terms of future climate threats and reinforces the need for an aligned national infrastructure strategy that factors in resilience planning,” said Jenkins.

As Jenkins pointed out, disasters like the Genoa bridge collapse in Italy in 2018 remind us of the need to constantly monitor and maintain existing infrastructure. A key requirement is financial sustainability for ongoing maintenance funding, particularly within local government where the bulk of the assets lie.

“When it comes to funding allocations, engineers and infrastructure asset managers need to tell their stories and be heard by political decision-makers. It’s a communications trade-off between risks, costs and service performance of your assets,” Jenkins explained.

“The Australian government plans to invest some A$120 billion (R1.37 trillion) on infrastructure over the next 10 years. However, the focus shouldn’t just be on new construction. We must make sure that there’s an ongoing conversation around maintenance and renewal,” Jenkins continued.

Operations and maintenance performance issues are common in most countries to a greater or lesser degree. In Australia’s case, IPWEA recently completed a survey with the Australian Local Government Association that revealed that some A$51 billion worth of infrastructure assets were in a poor state of repair.

“The findings show that sound stewardship is essential and that starts with an accurate and up-to-date asset management register, plus an asset management plan that dovetails with long-term financial planning. Engineering and finance must be aligned. Only then can it be determined if they are financially sustainable,” he said.

Now and in the future, technology will be a great enabler in terms of achieving efficiencies. An example is street lighting – a major cost for municipalities and one receiving attention in Australia through smart technologies that optimise utilisation and promote sustainability. Another example is static and mobile asset tracking and monitoring using technologies that provide real-time condition data.

“In our changing world, we need to be looking 10, 15 and 20 years ahead to keep pace with evolving trends, like e-mobility. Essentially, spatial and policy planners need to understand how people will want to live, work and play in the future. They also need to consider who pays for the infrastructure and the implications for future generations. It all comes back to the long-term financial sustainability of organisations and entities,” Jenkins concluded.

Public works in the USA

Jenkins’ message underscores the fact that municipal engineers across the world face similar challenges, which was further reinforced by Scott Grayson’s presentation, ‘Infrastructure, Advocacy, and Funding: Now What Do We Do?’

Grayson, CEO of APWA, expanded on their advocacy work in the USA to promote the essential role of municipal engineers, together with the pressing need for increased national/federal spending allocations for infrastructure. APWA structures were established in Washington DC, and Ottawa, Canada, to start the government lobbing process.

“Our starting point was to create policy statements to educate public decisionmakers down to the point where they had a clear understanding of what public works represents. We chose three focus areas, namely transportation, water and emergency management,” Grayson explained.

In parallel, APWA launched a campaign highlighting the role of public works personnel as ‘first responders’ especially in times of natural disasters. Mirroring Jenkins’ earlier comments, APWA also rolled out a ‘Tell your story’ campaign where municipal engineers shared their experiences and responsibilities.

To further rally their forces, APWA established a group of public works directors from US cities with a population of 500 000 or more. This influential lobby group then had sufficient clout to engage at the highest political circles within Washington DC, including the White House. The culmination of six years of APWA lobbying, in 2021, the US Congress passed a law allocating US$1.2 trillion (R20.4 trillion) for federal infrastructure spend over a five-year period. Some 14 different federal agencies will administer this process.

“Municipal engineers around the world need to keep on speaking out to ensure that policymakers recognise the essential

Gabions and River Mattresses Gabion Rocks Hexagon Wovenmesh Square Weldmesh Geotextiles Gabion Tool Sets Biodegradable Soil Blankets Soil Bioengineering Sandbags Gabion Barriers

and enabling role of public works,” Grayson concluded.

Umgeni Water

Concurring with Jenkins and Grayson, Visvin Reddy, board member of Umgeni Water, pointed out that engineers are solution drivers. (Umgeni Water was the Gold Sponsor for the conference.) Reddy said capacitating municipalities and water boards with relevant talent and technical skills is crucial within the context of South Africa’s transformation agenda.

Showing the way, Umgeni Water will shortly be launching its own engineering training academy, based at its Cato Ridge facility in KwaZulu-Natal. The initiative is modelled along the lines of the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands.

“This is a groundbreaking initiative and we’ll be looking to partner with organisations such as IMESA because we, like our international counterparts, focus on enhancing communication between engineers and politicians, so we’re all working as a team to finding solutions to our country’s problems, a prime example being non-revenue water and ageing infrastructure,” said Reddy.

The way forward

Across the board, coordinated efforts are key, with presentations by National Treasury and a panel discussion, entitled ‘Asset Management in Local Municipalities – is it Worth the Spend?’ providing a platform for healthy engagement. Unfruitful and wasteful expenditure remains a burning issue in South Africa, as does poor budget provision based on a lack of available asset data. While intended to combat corruption, procurement spend is also hampered due to excessive red tape

As reported by the Auditor-General of South Africa, a high percentage of municipalities are financially distressed. Consumer non-payment of water and electricity services is a major concern. However, the underlying causes are far more complex and require urgent resolution. (Dr Kevin Wall’s conference paper, entitled ‘Concerning municipal maintenance expenditure’, drills down into the subject.)

Closing remarks

“Across the globe and in South Africa, high-performing local governments are the catalysts for sustained socio-economic growth in their respective regions. And municipal engineers are integral to achieving this,” said Mjwara in his IMESA presidential closing address.

“The action points from this conference will be revisited when we meet again at the 86th IMESA Conference in October 2023. In the interim, IMESA and its strategic partners will continue to work with all stakeholders in pursuit of infrastructure delivery. We need positive and proactive engagement to make the changes we want to see in South Africa, and the world. We also need to ensure that municipal engineering is seen as a worthy career if we want to attract and retain experienced and aspiring professionals,” Mjwara concluded.