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Johannesburg - Tshwane has seen the biggest drop in maintenance and repair of infrastructure, according to the “State of South African Cities” report released on Wednesday.
While there was a general decrease in maintenance of infrastructure in nine South African cities between 2009 and 2014, Tshwane's was the worst.
The report is published by the South African Cities Network (SACN) every five years and gives an overview of the performance of the country's largest cities: Buffalo City, Cape Town, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Johannesburg, Mangaung, Msunduzi, Nelson Mandela Bay, and Tshwane.
In 2009, repairs and maintenance in the City of Tshwane made up 11.1% of operating expenditure. In 2014, this dropped to 6.5%.
“National Treasury recommends 8-10% of operating expenditure,” the report states.
Only eThekwini’s spending was within these guidelines.
Ekurhuleni’s spending on maintenance and repairs dropped from 9.1% of operating expenditure in 2009 to 6.7% in 2014.
In Nelson Mandela Bay it dropped from 10% to 7.6 %.
In most of the other cities it dropped by an average of 3%.
In Buffalo City it increased from 6% in 2009 to 7.5% in 2014.
The figure for Cape Town was 5.4% in 2009. There was no data available for 2014.
Transport
According to the report, South Africa had a modern and well-developed transport infrastructure.
In Mangaung, Msunduzi, Ekurhuleni, and Nelson Mandela Bay, most residents relied on taxis or a private vehicle to get around.
Ekurhuleni’s dispersed urban nodes created problems for public transport access.
Between 2003 and 2013, taxi usage in eThekwini increased, while private car usage decreased.
Johannesburg remained a car-captive society. Tshwane saw the biggest increase in the number of people using cars, up by 11.2% between 2003 and 2013.
Cape Town had the highest percentage of people who used trains.
