Explore publications.

Infrastructure development remains a core mandate of local government in South Africa; however, many municipalities continue to experience persistent infrastructure backlogs due to financial constraints, limited technical capacity, and governance challenges. In response to these challenges, public–private partnerships (PPPs) have increasingly been adopted as an alternative approach to infrastructure development, enabling collaboration between the public and private sectors through the sharing of resources, expertise, and risk. Despite their growing application, the effectiveness of PPPs at the local government level remains inconsistent, particularly within smaller and resource-constrained municipalities.