City’s R43 billion infrastructure investment to create an estimated 135 000 jobs

The City of Cape Town joined National Treasury and several representatives from other municipalities at the Cape Town International Convention Centre this past Wednesday, 11 September and Thursday 12 September 2024, to discuss and share insights at this year’s Infrastructure Skills Development Grant engineering alignment workshop.

The City of Cape Town has been part of the National Treasury funded Infrastructure Skills Development Grant (ISDG) Programme since the 2014/15 financial year, with an initial grant allocation of R1 million which now stands at R12 million for the 2024/25 financial year.

‘Since the inception of the programme graduates have been declared competent in their fields and were absorbed into permanent positions within the City. The main objective of the programme is to build a talent pool of scarce skills within municipalities across the country by training and mentoring graduates, and to assist them with registering with their relevant statutory professional councils,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services, Alderman Theresa Uys.

A total of 125 graduates have directly benefitted from the ISDG programme at the City of Cape Town. These graduates represent various fields of study that include Civil Engineering, Chemical and Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Biotechnology, Chemical Science, Environmental Science and Quantity Surveying.

‘The City is currently experiencing a shortage of professional engineers to support its main goal of infrastructure development. Many engineers within the City are reaching retirement age. The City needs to plan ahead to mitigate any impact this may have on future service delivery. As cities expand, their industries and people need to be supported by adequate services, from electricity, water and other amenities to additional services that aid modern development beyond the basics,’ added Alderman Uys.

‘Over the next three years, the City intends to invest R43 billion in infrastructure at a rate far outpacing any other metro. These infrastructure investments will create an estimated 135 000 jobs over the next three years,’ said the City’s Executive Director for Future Planning and Resilience, Gareth Morgan during the opening keynote address of the ISDG workshop on Wednesday.

‘The ISDG plays a crucial role in supporting these efforts. By funding a stream of built environment graduates, the ISDG enables these young professionals to enter the City and be mentored towards professional registration,’ added Morgan.

Municipalities from as far as Nelson Mandela Bay, Alfred Nzo District, and Buffalo City to name but a few, brought along some of their graduate interns who made presentations on the various projects they have worked on.

The City of Cape Town’s graduate interns, Wandisile Kubayi, Juane Brits and Ivy Maisela, shared their insights on working on the City’s design and construction of the Kenridge De Bron Pressure Management Zone. The team investigated extremely high pressures in the potable water system west of Jip De Jager Drive (North of Van Riebeeckshof Rd) in Bellville. The graduate interns reflected on how they conceptualised a feasible solution, as well as their contributions to engineering within the City of Cape Town.