Supporting The Public Sector of South Africa
Education
Public spending on education was 6.6% of GDP in 2012. There are nine years of compulsory education starting at the age of seven.
Public–private partnerships have been undertaken in the school sector, with funding from non-profits such as USAID’s School Capacity and Innovation Program (SCIP) to improve primary grade reading. The improvement of the education infrastructure via PPP with private vendors is planned in the KwaZulu-Natal Northern Growth Corridor, which is considered by the state to be particularly vital to delivering economic activity in the area. Deloitte along with consortium partners SMEC and Ledwaba Mazwai is currently working with the Department of Education to advise upon the provision of schools via PPP.
In January 2012, the Council on Higher Education recognised 23 public universities, including two concentrating on distance education and six universities of technology. It had also registered 88 private higher education institutions and a further 27 were provisionally registered. There are some 892,940 students in public higher education institutions, some 138,610 of whom are postgraduate students (2010). PPPs emerged in the higher education sector of South Africa in the 1990s, to improve accessibility of higher education and lower infrastructural costs. PPPs were initially seen in the distance education sub-sector, before moving into the wider higher education landscape with many residential institutions expanding into distance education.
Health
Public spending on health was 4 per cent of GDP in 2012. South Africa has approximately 400 public and private hospitals. Durban Academic Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, four new hospitals in Northern Province and many new health centres were built in the late 1990s. The Hospital Association of South Africa (HASA) represents the interests of about 90 per cent of the private hospitals. The upgrade and refurbishment of Phalaborwa Hospital in Limpompo was assigned to a PPP development in 2008 under 85 per cent Black Economic Empowerment equity and subcontracting, reaching completion in 2011. The PPP model designated the finance–design–upgrade–refurbishment of the 1970s hospital by private partner Clinix. It will subsequently provide private care to the underserved surrounding area, with an annual concession fee going to the Limpopo Department of Health and Social Development. Public patients under the Government Employees Medical Scheme can be referred to the facility at a discounted rate, while employees of the two mining companies in Phalaborwa get free health care. Other health care PPPs approved since 2011 are: Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital (KwaZulu-Natal Dept Health); Universitas and Pelonomi Hospitals co-location (Free State Dept Health); State Vaccine Institute (Dept Health); Humansdorp District Hospital (Eastern Cape Dept Health); Rehabilitation Centre and Lentegeur Hospital (Western Cape); Port Alfred and Settlers Hospital (Eastern Cape Dept of Health). Public–private partnerships have also been used in the area of medical education to train highly specialised doctors in hospitals.
Transport
The transport system in South Africa is well established. Advanced infrastructure mechanisms allow for efficient freight forwarding and shipping of goods by land, air and sea. There has been a general move towards the restructuring and privatisation of the transport sector, but this has been strongly opposed and faced delays as a result. A large-scale public–private partnership was the Maputo Development Corridor (1995–) developed in partnership with the Mozambique Government and encompassing inland infrastructure, the development of Port Maputo and the N4 toll road. Another significant PPP, the ZAR20 billion Gautrain Rapid Speed Rail reached financial close in 2007. This rapid rail link between Tshwane, Johannesburg and Johannesburg International Airport is the largest single transport infrastructure project in Southern Africa. The private partner was Bombela Consortium, made up of Bombardier Transportation, Boygues TP, Murray and Roberts, Strategic Partners Group and RATP Development. Other transport PPPs that have reached financial close include Chapman’s Peak Toll road (Western Cape Dept Transport) and Fleet Management (Eastern Cape Dept Transport).
