Report on a scoping study on the potential added value of the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative (CoST) in South Africa: final report

Abstract

The 2018 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) published a full list of key infrastructure projects and has promised greater transparency, including publishing on-line expenditure reports of current infrastructure projects. It has acknowledged that weak project preparation, planning and execution has led to lengthy delays and to over- and underspending, and that problems with quality are principally due to a lack of proper planning and design prior to construction. The MTBPS makes it clear that infrastructure expenditure is a key element of the plan for economic recovery which can unlock private investment as well as improve the efficiency of public infrastructure expenditure. Thus, a scoping study into the level of transparency, accountability and stakeholder participation in delivering public infrastructure, with a view to considering the value which the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative (CoST)3 could add, is timely, particularly in the light of the government???s commitment to greater infrastructure investment.