MURENDENI LIPHADZI | Infrastructure delivery starts with leadership, not concrete

South Africa’s power system is showing encouraging signs of stability. At the same time, government is preparing for a new wave of infrastructure investment worth more than R1-trillion across energy, transport, water, housing and logistics.

As these projects move from planning to implementation, one lesson cannot be ignored: infrastructure projects do not fail because concrete is poured incorrectly. They fail when leadership, governance and accountability break down.

The cost of getting this wrong is enormous. Medupi and Kusile were originally budgeted at approximately R80bn each. Today, their combined costs have exceeded R400bn, while project completion timelines stretched by almost a decade. During this period, South Africa experienced some of the worst electricity shortages in its history, with load-shedding constraining economic growth and damaging investor confidence.

The story of Medupi and Kusile is often framed as one of engineering complexity and construction delays. While technical challenges undoubtedly played a role, the deeper lesson is that South Africa’s most costly infrastructure setbacks were failures of leadership, oversight and execution. Engineering problems can be solved. Governance failures are far more difficult and expensive to correct.

When the projects were approved, they were expected to secure the country’s energy future and support economic growth. Instead, they became symbols of delayed delivery, escalating costs and weakened public confidence. Frequent leadership changes at Eskom, board instability, procurement irregularities and prolonged debates around organisational restructuring contributed to an environment where accountability became fragmented and project execution suffered.

This distinction matters because South Africa is entering a new era of infrastructure investment. Infrastructure development is expected to play a leading role in economic recovery and long-term growth. Yet global evidence suggests that successful project delivery remains the exception rather than the norm.

Research by megaproject expert Prof Bent Flyvbjerg, drawing on the Oxford Global Projects Database, shows that approximately 92% of megaprojects exceed their original budgets. The common causes are rarely engineering failures alone. More often, projects falter because of weak governance, poor risk management, fragmented decision-making and unrealistic planning assumptions.

One of the recurring lessons from failed projects globally is that responsibility becomes diluted across multiple stakeholders, making it difficult to identify who is accountable for delivery.

Major infrastructure projects operate within complex environments involving regulators, contractors, communities, financiers and government institutions. Managing this complexity requires more than technical expertise. It requires leadership that can align interests, drive accountability, make timely decisions and maintain strategic focus throughout the project lifecycle.

Successful infrastructure delivery depends on five leadership capabilities.

First, there must be clear accountability. One of the recurring lessons from failed projects globally is that responsibility becomes diluted across multiple stakeholders, making it difficult to identify who is accountable for delivery.

Second, leaders must create governance systems that support timely and informed decision-making. Delays are often not caused by a lack of information, but by an inability to act when risks emerge.

Third, leaders must maintain visibility across the entire project ecosystem. Successful delivery depends on understanding realities on the ground, aligning stakeholders and ensuring that operational risks receive strategic attention.

Fourth, leaders must cultivate a culture of execution. Many organisations have strong policies and governance frameworks yet still struggle to deliver results. High-performing institutions create cultures where accountability, collaboration and problem-solving are rewarded.

Finally, leaders must embrace continuous learning and adaptation. Modern infrastructure projects operate within rapidly changing technological, economic and regulatory environments. Leadership effectiveness increasingly depends on the ability to leverage data, adopt emerging technologies and build organisational resilience.

Technology can certainly help. Building Information Modelling (BIM), predictive analytics, digital twins and real-time project monitoring are transforming infrastructure delivery globally. These tools improve visibility, strengthen risk management and support better decision-making.

South Africa’s experience through CIDB-led BIM initiatives and participation in Brics BIM competitions demonstrates that digital technologies deliver their greatest value when combined with capable leadership, effective governance and organisational readiness. Technology can improve project performance, but it cannot compensate for leadership deficiencies.

A dashboard cannot make decisions. Artificial intelligence cannot enforce accountability. Digital tools cannot replace competent leadership, effective governance and a culture of performance.

The challenge facing South Africa is therefore not simply one of infrastructure delivery. It is fundamentally a question of state capability. Infrastructure outcomes reflect the ability of institutions to make decisions, coordinate stakeholders, manage risk, deploy technology effectively and maintain accountability over extended periods. Leadership, governance and digital transformation should be viewed as interconnected drivers of infrastructure performance.

The economic case for strengthening these capabilities is compelling. Even a 20% cost overrun on a R100bn infrastructure programme destroys R20bn in value, resources that could otherwise be directed towards schools, hospitals, water infrastructure or additional energy capacity. Leadership failures are therefore not abstract governance concerns; they have direct economic and social consequences.

This means creating procurement models that reward performance and long-term value rather than simply the lowest cost. It means strengthening accountability mechanisms, improving transparency and ensuring that project leaders have both the authority and capability to act decisively when risks emerge.

It also requires accelerating the adoption of Building Information Modelling within public-sector infrastructure delivery. While important progress has been made through CIDB initiatives, South Africa still lacks a formalised and consistently applied BIM mandate across public procurement. Establishing such a framework would strengthen transparency, improve collaboration and support better decision-making throughout the infrastructure lifecycle.

Most importantly, it requires recognising that infrastructure success is determined long before construction begins. It starts with leadership.

Every delayed project postpones economic growth. Every cost overrun diverts resources from other national priorities. Every failed project weakens public trust in the institutions responsible for delivery.

South Africa’s next generation of infrastructure projects will require a different leadership mindset, one that prioritises accountability over bureaucracy, collaboration over silos and execution over compliance.

The countries that consistently deliver world-class infrastructure are not necessarily those with the most advanced engineering capabilities. They are those that combine technical excellence with strong leadership, effective governance and institutions capable of turning strategy into execution.

If South Africa is serious about delivering infrastructure at the scale and speed needed for inclusive growth, leadership development must become a strategic priority alongside engineering capability, financing and technology adoption.

Because in the end, infrastructure delivery starts with leadership, not concrete.

• Dr Murendeni Liphadzi is deputy director of the Sustainable Human Settlement and Construction Research Centre at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa’s CIDB lead expert on Building Information Modelling (BIM), and a specialist in infrastructure governance and digital leadership