Water, Sewage & Effluent November December 2018 | Page 22

the anger and deepest divisions that
prevent us from becoming a nation. It
is probably the most important factor
driving social disorder and violent
deviant behaviour.” (Van Zyl, 2018).
speculation. South Africa’s Gross
Domestic Product growth rate was
calculated at 0.2% in July 2015 and
decreased to -2.2% in March 2018 2 .
1.4 Declining business confidence
With rising costs of doing business,
protest disruptions and infrastructure
failure (water and electricity supply etc.),
businesses have been reluctant or unable
to invest and expand. South Africa’s
Business Confidence Index rose to above
50 index points in 2013 and decreased to
just below 40 index points in 2018 3 .
1.7 South Africa’s current strategy
At the heart of the current strategy is the
National Development Plan (NDP) 2030.
This 20-year plan is aimed at eliminating
poverty and reducing inequality by 2030.
Of the 13 key challenges listed in a
draft diagnostic document covering the
plan, creating employment, expanding
infrastructure and transitioning to a
low-carbon economy, feature highly
on this list. According to statistical data
in 2018, 8 years into this plan and with
only 60% of the deadline remaining, the
likelihood of success is unlikely.
1.5 Rising unemployment
With the business sector under
pressure, inevitable job losses follow.
South Africa’s unemployment rate was
25% in 2013 and has steadily risen to
above 27% in 2018 4 .
1.8 A change in thinking is required
Although the NDP 2030 is specific
and clear, the current constraints
and resources within government
are not geared towards implementing
this noteworthy plan en masse.
Specifically, with regards to pipeline
infrastructure, the wholesale roll-out
of trenchless technology is an ideal
instrument for achieving several of the
NDP 2030’s objectives.
1.6 Major service delivery protests by
year (2005 – 30th June 2018)
Failing infrastructure has not only
affected businesses, citizens have
turned to civil unrest and protest action
in response to a lack of service delivery.
In 2007, 32 major service delivery
protests were recorded in South Africa.
This peaked at 191 protests per year in
2014 and is currently at 144 protests for
2018 5 . The resultant effect of such poor
economic performance is an increase in
social inequality.
“While poverty and unemployment
are major problems, it is the extreme
inequality in South Africa that stands
in the way of achieving the national
consensus needed to start winning
the battle against our massive social
problems. It is inequality that generates
2. The trenchless model
Since underground infrastructure
underpins all development, every South
African living in a formalized area is
affected and impacted by our sewer,
water supply, stormwater, telecoms and
other buried networks. Furthermore,
within the informal settlements growing
around the major population centers,
Table 1: Typical labour requirement for 100 m of water pipe replacement in an
urban area
No.
Activity
Pipe Bursting
Skilled
Open-cut
Excavation
Unskilled Skilled Unskilled
1 Traffic Accommodation
3
2 HDPE Welding 1 2 3 Excavation & Backfilling 1 10 1 12
4 By-pass Piping 4 5 Pipe Installation 4 2 3 1
6 Tie-in/Plumbing Work 4 7 Reinstatement & Clean-up 2 4 1 12
16 21 9 28
Total
3
4
37
https://tradingeconomics.com/south-africa/gdp-growth
https://tradingeconomics.com/south-africa/business-confidence
37
4
3 5
Water Sewage & Effluent November/December 2018
2.1 Creating employment and livelihood
Although government spending on
these underground assets has not kept
pace with the rate of deterioration and
failure, the focus of the spending has
been on the open excavation approach
as these are seen as opportunities
to create short-term employment for
local inhabitants. Although short-term
employment is being generated by
using open excavation construction,
this does not offer a meaningful and
efficient solution to the problem of
ageing, deteriorating infrastructure.
There is little difference between the
size of the workforce deployed when
comparing open excavation with
trenchless methods. More importantly
however, is that there is a significant
increase in output when using
trenchless methods. This translates
into more efficient service delivery
with greater value for money.
Particularly for water and sewer
pipeline upgrades (replacement of
old asbestos cement water mains,
damaged and cracked clay sewer
pipelines), the trenchless method of
pipe bursting is a direct alternative to
conventional open-cut installation.
This also offers the opportunity
for the upsizing of pipelines with
insufficient capacity.
2.2 Common misconceptions
When decision makers review
the pipeline replacement options,
comparing conventional open-cut
excavation and trenchless methods,
their decisions are influenced by the
notion that open-cut excavation will
invariably create more employment for
local job seekers. Unfortunately, several
factors are omitted when considering
these options:
Source-https://tradingeconomics.com/south-africa/unemployment-rate
Source: Municipal IQ Municipal Hotspots Monitor
2
20
the need for new pipeline networks
to service these semi-permanent
residential areas are long overdue.
The pipeline reticulation network
in South Africa is estimated at over
197 000 km. With an average water
loss rate of 37%, the water supply
pipeline networks are in need of urgent
attention. According to: The State
of Basic Service Delivery in South
Africa report (Table 6.8), only 63% of
South African households experience
a ‘full’ sanitation service. The rest of
the 6-million households receive a
sanitation service which is described
as: none, minimal, basic or intermediate.
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