Poor municipal service delivery is largely due to a shortage of artisans, which are not being produced in sufficient numbers to operate and maintain municipal infrastructure.
John Botha, the general manager of the Production Management Institute, a subsidiary of Adcorp, said this week: "When you scratch the surface of poor delivery, you inevitably find that the one constant factor is a lack of skills. We just don't have enough artisans to do the work. We are producing less than half the number we should be."
He was commenting on recent reports that at least R2 billion was left unspent by local government, with many municipalities plagued by poor infrastructural maintenance.
Artisans are critical for the operation and maintenance of municipal infrastructure and equipment. This includes heavy-current electricians, plumbers, fitters and turners, welders, carpenters, bricklayers and handymen.
He said the main reason for the shortage of artisans was the lack of suitably qualified candidates with qualifications in science and maths, the foundation of many artisan trades.
Prior to 1990, artisan trades were restricted to those who had passed Standard 7 (now Grade 9) - a level denied to most black people. "Currently, the school system is turning out woefully insufficient numbers of black science and maths students," said Botha.
Another reason for the shortage is that Eskom and Telkom, which used to train a large number of artisans through apprenticeships, no longer do so due to the commercialisation of their operations.
Emigration has also dented the skills base as has the fact that companies have scaled down their training as Seta learnerships have replaced company apprenticeships
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