MEC Mamabolo mobilises A-team for urgent infrastructure intervention
By: Sthabile Cele
20 May 2025 
Today, the MEC for Infrastructure Development and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Jacob Mamabolo, convened a pivotal high-level meeting at the Tshwane Regional Hub, bringing together the HoD for Infrastructure Development, Masabata Mutlaneng, HoD for CoGTA, Dr Darion Barclay as well as the Gauteng Infrastructure Financing Agency (GIFA), CEO, Oupa Seabi. The purpose of this meeting was to re-energise and reposition the A-Team, a multidisciplinary task force as a powerful engine for infrastructure transformation across the Gauteng province.
The A-Team, conceptualised by MEC Mamabolo, is a cross-functional team comprising of Engineers, Artisans, Inspectors, Project Managers, and Planners. The team is tasked with fast-tracking solutions to urgent infrastructure challenges, particularly in high-risk and disaster-affected areas such as sinkhole-prone zones, structurally compromised buildings, and deteriorating municipal infrastructure. The A-Team is also mandated to mobilise internal professional and technical expertise, breaking silos between departments to ensure an integrated and engineering-led approach to project implementation.
MEC Mamabolo emphasised that the A-Team's work must now shift from policy frameworks to real-time action, guided by a "war room mindset", marked by urgency, collaboration, and precision. He made a powerful call to empower engineers and professionals, stating, "We are not going to change the country if we continue to marginalise engineers. Let us unleash professionals, empower them, and give them the tools they need to fix infrastructure problems." MEC Mamabolo further underlined the necessity of cooperation between DID, CoGTA, and GIFA, forming a united tri-partite platform that leverages shared skills, technical resources, and funding capabilities. He added, "The Gauteng Premier was correct to put us under one roof. Now we must work like it. We can solve the problems of this province. But only if we do it together."
To support Gauteng's move toward intelligent urban management, the A-Team has been tasked with conducting condition assessments of over 4,000 public assets valued at over R54 billion. These assessments will inform maintenance strategies, infrastructure modernisation, and the commercialisation of underused public properties. Working in partnership with GIFA, the A-Team will generate credible, fundable business cases that can unlock long-term infrastructure financing and investment.
Mamabolo concluded the meeting by charging stakeholders with a clear and urgent mission: to move from talk to tangible outcomes. He called on the A-Team to become a visible, high-impact force, not only diagnosing infrastructure problems but actively solving them on the ground through rapid deployment and professional integration.
The meeting ended with the A-Team delivering a progress report, reflecting on achievements since their last engagement and setting a renewed tone of accountability, professionalism, and urgency.