University of the Witwatersrand

School of Civil and Environmental

Engineering
Assignment 1a and 1b
Name Mpho Motsoeneng
Student no 0715349P
Course CIVN3016: Infrastructure and Development
Due Date 24 February 2017

1
Table of Contents

Abstract.1

Introduction...1

Critical forms of development needed...1

Recommendations of infrastructure that will stimulate development......2

Reference.3

2
Abstract

This essay is on the forms of development critical for the development of a community that I am
acquainted with and includes recommendations on the types of infrastructure that will stimulate
development in the community.

Introduction

The community of interest that I will be covering in my essay is that of Sebokeng. A township located
south of Gauteng with a population of 218 515 people (Census 2011 n.d.). I chose this community for the
reason that I grew up in it and it is very close to my heart. The community has an unemployment rate of
34% (Stats South Africa n.d.) according to 2011 reports. It covers an area of about 46.45m and is 70km
away from the Johannesburg CBD.

The area falls under the Emfuleni Local Municipality (EML) .EML also contains five other townships
namely (i) Evaton, (ii) Sharpeville, (iii) Boipatong, (iv) Bophelong and (v) Tshepiso

It also consists of ten small suburban areas namely (i) Roshnee, (ii) Bonanne, (iii) Steel Park, (iv)
Duncanville, (v) Unitas Park, (vi) Arcon Park, (vii) Sonland Park, (viii) Waldrift, (ix) Rust-ter-Vaal and (x)
Debonairpark

This essay will cover the Emfuleni Local Municipality as a whole for the reason that the planning,
execution and effects of the Integrated Development Plan by the Emfuleni Local Municipality has a direct
influence on the community of Sebokeng.

Critical forms of development needed

Before going further into the essay one has to first identify the main forms of development. These are
namely (i) income growth, (ii) economic growth, (iii) social/human development, (iv) growth in
institutional capacity, (v) increase in environmental sustainability and (vi) Infrastructure/Assets (Adesola
2017, p 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.9).

From my experience of living in the community, of all the above mentioned components of development,
the one that is mainly insufficient is infrastructure (sanitation and roads). The internal road infrastructure
of the community is inadequate and more needs to be done to rectify this. The bulk sewer network of the
Emfuleni region also needs to be upgraded. This is evident as sewer spillages are a common occurrence in
the community. Contact information is not readily available when one needs to request for repairs on
damaged infrastructure (sewer) from the authorities.

Another issue facing my community is crime and drug abuse by the youth. A direct correlation exists
between unemployment and crime rate (Gauteng Provincial Government 2011). Walking in the dusty
streets of my community it is evident that a large proportion of the unemployed is the youth and almost
all the drug users I know or know of are also youth. There are currently no facilities in the community
that accommodate drug addicts or recovering drug addicts. If one requires assistance he/she has to
obtain it at the local clinic. This issue would fall under social/human development

The Emfuleni Local Municipality received funding of R6.3 billion rands in the 2016/2017 financial year
according to the 2016/2017 EML Integrated Development Plan. The Municipality is however plagued by
accusations of fraud corruption and maladministration (DA 2015) amounting to R400 million. Money is
being spent on roads and infrastructure projects but the projects end up being abandoned or the quality
of work being substandard i.e. projects have to be re-done. This issue would be classified as growth in
institutional capacity.

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Recommendations of infrastructure that will stimulate development

Social/Human Development growth

The area of Sebokeng has no resources in terms of clubs/societies that the youth can join and shelters
that drug addicts can visit.
I would recommend that social clubs ran by social workers together with mentors be implemented in and
around the community in order to mould the youth from a young age. The community has very few
positive influences and research has shown that youth who participate in extra mural activities are less
likely to be exposed to the dangers of society (Hechinger 1992).

The most popular sport in the community is soccer. This is evident in that once a year during the festive
season, the annual Pooe soccer tournament takes place in the community bringing in youth spectators in
their numbers. This tournament is organised by a local businessman with no support from the
municipality or government. A well-financed soccer league together with a community soccer stadium
would go a long way in getting the youth off the streets.

Growth in Institutional Capacity

It is no secret that corruption in South Africa is very widespread. According to the South African
Department of Planning Monitoring and Evaluations development indicators published in 2014, South
Africas corruption perception index is ranked 67 out of 175 countries. A country with a rating of 100 is
considered very clean and that with a rating of 0 is considered highly corrupt (Wikipedia n.d.). The
problem of corruption is not only a local problem but also a national one. The Government should have
transparency systems that involve the public. An independent agency should be formed that enforces all
anti-corruption laws and policies efficiently much like the hawks.

Economic Growth
According to The Donor Committee for Enterprise Development, economic growth is directly related to
employment. The Emfuleni Integrated Development Plan indicates that the municipality has been making
strides in economic growth by facilitating the developments of a number of projects, mostly malls and
shopping complexes
In 2001, 40% of the Emfuleni population was unemployed as compared to 35% in 2011 (Stats South Africa
n.d.), that is a decrease of 6% over a period of 10 years. These figures are however very low when you
consider the following

Arcelor Mittal the biggest steel manufacture in Africa is located within the Emfuleni Municipality
The Vaal river is located within the Emfuleni local municipality and has potential to increase
employment in the tourism sector
The Emerald casino and resort located in the Emfuleni Municipality has not maximised its
employment creation potential

An economic hub or precinct can be erected with the sole purpose of informing and educating the
community about the possible opportunities within their areas. Presence of the precinct will promote
self- employment within the community, contribute towards economic growth and reduce the crime
levels.

Infrastructure

The road infrastructure needs to be expanded in order to improve the quality of life of the community as
it is not adequate and where it exists it requires repairs i.e. potholes present.

The bulk sewer system of Emfuleni also needs to be upgraded in order to cater for the increasing
population numbers. This will contribute towards spillage prevention of the sewer network

4
References

Stats SA 2011, Statistic South Africa website, viewed 23 February, 2017, <http://www.statssa.gov.za/>.

Adesola, I 2017, CIVN3016 Infrastructure Planning and Development: course pack, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Gauteng.

Gauteng Provincial Government 2009, Exploring the Relationship between Crime and Socioeconomic
Indicators in Gauteng, Gauteng Treasury, viewed 23 February 2017, <http://www.treasury.gpg.gov.za/>.

DA 2015, Democratic Alliance Gauteng website, viewed 23 February, 2017,

< http://da-gpl.co.za/emfuleni-corruption-da-lays-criminal-charges-against-municipal-officials-and-
contractors/>.

Wikipedia n.d., Corruption Perception Index, viewed 23 February 2017,

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index>.

Wikipedia n.d., Johannesburg, viewed 23 February 2017,

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannesburg#Economy>.

Hechinger, Fred 1992, Fateful Choices: Healthy Youth for the 21st Century, Hill and Wang, New York, NY.