Trust is not simply a social value – it is the critical infrastructure that drives the economy, says Western Cape Property Development Forum chairperson Deon van Zyl.

Speaking at the Western Cape Infrastructure Ministerial Roundtable held in Cape Town last week, Van Zyl said no amount of legal drafting or auditing could compensate for the absence of trust.

“Compliance does not equate to trust. Where trust exists, remarkable things become possible.

“When we hear the words ‘strategic partnering’ or ‘partnership’, our minds tend to immediately jump to public-private partnerships, contract formats, memoranda of understanding or investment agreements.

“But I would suggest that this is not where partnerships begin. Partnerships begin with something much more fundamental – partnerships begin with trust.

“Today I would like to table a simple proposition. Trust is not simply a social value; it is the critical infrastructure that drives the economy,” noted Van Zyl.

“Just like roads carry freight, ports move exports and electricity powers factories, Trust powers the economy.

“Without trust the economy slows down, projects stall, capital treads water, and relationships become transactional, strained and eventually dissolve.

“South Africa speaks frequently about infrastructure,” said Van Zyl. “We speak about electricity, water, transport, housing and digital connectivity. Yet our greatest infrastructure deficit is not physical. It is institutional. It is relational.

“It is the critically needed confidence that government, business and communities will do what they say they will do; that they will perform within agreed deadlines; that they will look out for each other just as real partners look out for each other; and that they will focus on economic growth and delivery as the most important common denominators.”

Van Zyl said all investment decisions were ultimately decisions about confidence.

“Developers commit capital because they trust the regulatory environment and believe in the future.

“Funders finance projects because they trust governance.

“Communities support development because they trust the process and believe in the promise.

“Government partners with the private sector because it trusts its ability to execute on projects.

“But, when trust declines, everyone adds contingencies and escalates the price.”

Van Zyl highlighted the irony that government and business often had “remarkably similar objectives”.

“Government wants jobs. Business wants growth. Government wants functioning provinces and cities. Business needs functioning regions and cities.

“Government wants infrastructure. Business depends upon infrastructure.

“Government wants inclusive economic development. Business needs prosperous customers.

“Society needs both government and business to succeed,” remarked Van Zyl.

“Our interests are far more aligned than our public debates often suggest. So why is there a lack of trust?

“Our challenge is that each sector – the public sector and the private sector – often views the other through its worst experience.

“Business tends to see government as slow, indecisive and bureaucratic.

“Government tends to see business as impatient, self-interested and greedy profit seekers.

“Society feels that both government and business do not listen.

“None of the stereotypes tells the whole story. None of these views are always true. Doggedly holding onto these views undermines trust and the potential for partnership.

“I put it to you that our respective views are the downfall of South Africa,” said Van Zyl.

“Yet, I am also reminded that trust, the building block of partnership, is earned: it is not a given. It is earned through performance and not words.”

Van Zyl said he believed that strategic partnering between government and the private sector rested on five foundations.

The first is a shared purpose.

“The best partnerships are not built around projects. Partnerships are built around agreed outcomes,” said Van Zyl.

These outcomes included economic growth and job creation.

At number two was predictability.

“Business does not expect government to remove legislation or regulation. We expect national government, provinces and municipalities to cooperate and to streamline legislation and regulations, to remove duplication of processes.

“We expect regulation to be consistently and uniformly applied.

“We require predictability in decision-making, because predictability creates investment confidence.

“Transparent processes create confidence. The removal of duplications in processes builds confidence. Clear and predictable timelines create confidence.

“Predictability and consistency are government's greatest potential economic assets,” emphasised Van Zyl.

The third foundation was capability.

“Trust grows when institutions capacitate and consistently deliver. Professional public administration matters. Competent and empowered clients matter.

“Competent programme and project management matters. Technical excellence matters. Likewise, the private sector must bring integrity, expertise and long-term commitment rather than short-term opportunism.”

The fourth and fifth foundations were transparency and relationships.

“People and communities trust what they understand. This requires transparency, in other words open communication, visible decision-making, the sharing of information and early engagement.”

When it came to relationships. Van Zyl said organisations did not trust each other.

“People either trust, or distrust each other. Long before contracts are signed, relationships determine whether difficult conversations become disputes or solutions.

“Every successful region and city in the world has invested not only in infrastructure, but also in relationships between its public and private leadership – between their technical teams.”

Van Zyl said the future competitiveness of South Africa and its cities and towns depended less on the quality of its individual organisations, and more on the quality of the relationships between them.

“Trust is not a soft issue – trust is an economic strategy.

“Every additional layer of trust that we build on a daily basis reduces the cost of doing business. It speeds up investment, encourages innovation and improves service delivery.

“Trust creates jobs and ultimately improves the quality of life for every citizen in our country, our provinces and every city or town.”