Crackdown on delayed and over-budget infrastructure projects in South Africa

Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille has vowed unannounced site visits to catch underperforming contractors responsible for delayed and over-budget tourism infrastructure projects.

She shared this information on the sidelines of the launch of the Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre in the Free State on 22 June.

De Lille said that while there are many success stories of department-funded tourism infrastructure projects, “some of them are not in a good state, I must be honest.”

“The Deputy Minister and I will be visiting those projects unannounced. I’m not going to tell them that I’m coming.”

“I want to catch the contractors on site, and they have something to explain because too many infrastructure projects go over time and budget, and we don’t have that extra budget,” she said.

De Lille said that after she visits the delayed sites, “we will explain to the rest of the country some of the other problems and challenges that we’ve got with infrastructure projects.”

She added that there are also several exciting tourism infrastructure projects that are going to be launched in the coming months.

There has been a history of stalled or delayed government-funded tourism infrastructure projects, some predating the establishment of Tourism as a standalone Department in 2009.

For example, BusinessTech recently reported how a tourism project in Limpopo, built with R58 million of state funds, has remained closed and unused for the past two decades.

In 2015, the Department of Tourism (DoT) began working with the Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC), a National Treasury entity, to assess the viability of stalled projects.

In 2018, GTAC found that stalled tourism projects were largely due to funding shortfalls, implementation delays, and poor financial viability.

It recommended a revised project management model with rigorous feasibility studies, better planning, and enhanced collaboration with private and development partners to improve outcomes and prevent future failures.

To improve project implementation, the Department appointed the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) as its implementing agent in 2020.

Contracted directly by the Department and reporting under Treasury, the DBSA’s agreement has been extended several times, with the current term ending in March 2027.

The DBSA had been tasked with delivering 71 projects under this agreement, with a total budget exceeding R1.17 billion.

On 27 May, the DBSA gave an update to Parliament’s portfolio committee on tourism on DoT projects managed by them.

They said that they have made notable progress, with 46 of 56 active projects reaching practical completion and 10 more under construction.

To date, R956 million has been committed, and R788 million has been spent, creating over 1,260 job opportunities.

However, the briefing noted that the programme faces persistent delays, cost overruns, and sustainability concerns.

Challenges include non-performing contractors, community unrest, inadequate municipal services, and a lack of post-handover operational planning. Some projects remain stalled due to land disputes, service gaps, and poor planning.

To improve delivery, they said in the meeting that the Department is tightening oversight, enhancing project tracking, and restructuring its approach toward fewer, high-impact projects.

Key measures include monthly monitoring, community steering committees, a focus on sustainability, and proposals for a dedicated Project Management Unit and an inter-ministerial committee to boost infrastructure coordination.

Not good enough, says the DA

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has raised its concerns about the DBSA’s handling of tourism infrastructure projects, citing a “consistent pattern of delays, cost overruns, and governance failures.”

DA Spokesperson on Tourism and MP Haseena Ismail said that “South Africans are not getting value for money,” despite R788 million already being spent on projects across all nine provinces.

“Every single one of the 10 tourism infrastructure projects currently under construction is behind schedule.”

“To make matters worse, DBSA continues to recycle the same project managers,” she added.

Cost overruns remain a major concern, with Ismail citing the Oaks Lodge project in Limpopo as having “reached 183% of its original budget, with no clear accountability.”

The DA is calling for a halt on new DBSA-managed projects until proper audits and feasibility studies are completed.

“Clear and up-to-date feasibility studies must be conducted for all future projects,” said Ismail, and “public-private partnerships must be prioritised, not neglected.”

DoT spokesperson Tasneem Carrim has said that it “has governance structures in place to monitor the planning and implementation progress of the projects.”

“Detailed planning (guided by built environment norms and standards) supported by specialist studies, where required, will inform the implementation of any future infrastructure projects.”

“The successful completion and operations of the facilities will help to increase the ownership and involvement of communities in the tourism sector,” added Carrim.