TITLE:
Strategic Coordination for Sustainable Investment in Critical Infrastructure
AUTHORS:
Jeremiah Mutamba, Ola Busari
KEYWORDS:
Critical Infrastructure, Sanitation, South Africa, Strategic Coordination, Water
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.2 No.5,
December
18,
2014
ABSTRACT: In demonstrating the prime place of
infrastructure investment in its national long-term development framework encapsulated
in Vision 2030, as well as in the related New Growth Path, South Africa
recently put together a comprehensive National Infrastructure Plan. Aside from
mapping out short and medium-term priorities for scaling up investment in
strategic sectors and enhancing infrastructure links across the country, the
initiative underscores development objectives such as community empowerment and
skills development. This paper zeroes into one of the 18 strategic programs in
the plan—specifically devoted to water and sanitation infrastructure—and
presents the principal elements for pursuing effective inter-project
coordination and integration, as well as, ultimately, for ensuring the
sustainable implementation of critical infrastructure. The approaches that have
influenced the success of strategic coordination include participatory
planning, project prioritization, regular tracking and unblocking of
implementation hurdles, localization, active stakeholder engagement and ongoing
program integration.