WE CLOSED off 2017 with a series of public engagements in the Northern Cape, in both Upington and Kimberley, with a view to embrace change and transformation, not only within our organisation, but the communities in which we operate. We also took to the people our long-term strategy, paving the way for integrated and solution-based road transport initiatives, for the next decade. This year kicks off against a backdrop of massive change and progress in our country. We’re excited. This year, there are some highly progressive projects under way in the Northern Cape and we want to assure the communities through which our construction projects pass, that we are committed to creating travel solutions that directly speak to their needs.
We also want to ensure that communities and SMMEs draw economic benefit from our various construction projects. To this end we have worked extensively with our training partners to ensure that women in construction particularly are empowered with the knowledge of how to tender successfully for the various work opportunities the projects give rise to. Women-owned construction companies are making great strides in creating employment in their communities and contributing to the overall development and transformation of the sector.
Road safety remains a key priority and as such, is a thread that runs through all
projects, from planning and design.
In the previous financial year, nearly R1.5bn was earmarked for the Northern
Cape’s roads, with mainstream construction accounting for nearly R870m thereof,
while specific safety upgrades to a series of roads, including the Cape Town Road
(N12), the Douglas Road (R357) and the Griekwastad Road (N8), was likely to require
nearly R90m. Key to these upgrades is the conversion of traditional intersections
to traffic circles just outside Kimberley, which is likely to contribute fundamentally
to overall road safety. While we will do everything in our power to engineer safer
roads, improved road user behaviour is just as important if we are to effectively
reduce the carnage on our roads.
We are very pleased with the work being done on the N12 between Hopetown and Kimberley, which will see the bridge over the Orange River being significantly widened in order to handle the ever-growing traffic load, as well as the installation of a pedestrian sidewalk on the upstream side. Another major project is the maintenance of the N7 between Okiep and Steinkopf, which will result in the national road being widened on both sides.
This year, SANRAL celebrates its 20th anniversary. What better way to commemorate this than to continue playing our part in building South Africa through better roads!
Skhumbuzo Macozoma is SANRAL’s CEO
GEOGRAPHICALLY, the Northern Cape is the largest province in South Africa, taking up nearly a third of the land space in our country – and yet we have the smallest population, a meagre 1.19m people. Distances between our towns, cities and rural communities are vast and sound road infrastructure is critical to our existence. But our partnership with SANRAL is not only in building roads in our province. More importantly, the roads agency maintains and upgrades our existing network infrastructure. This plays a massive role in our ability to move our people and goods safely through our province and connect to developmental opportunities in the rest of South Africa.
We heartily welcome the widening of the bridge over the Orange River on the N12 between Hopetown and Kimberley, as it will fundamentally improve the ability of the road to accommodate the ever-increasing freight traffic to and from Kimberley, as well as the overall driving experience for all motorists. The recent upgrades to the N12 between Riverton and Windsorton, which includes the repair of pavement defects, pre-treatment and reseal of approximately 26km of road and the upgrading of rest areas, intersections and access roads, also contributes significantly to safer roads.
As we wrap up the festive season road safety statistics, we are reminded of just how vulnerable road users are, especially pedestrians. I must commend the Road Incident Management System (RIMS) team in the Northern Cape for the outstanding work done in communicating and dispatching emergency medical services every time someone was in distress on our roads. The team (including SANRAL, provincial and municipal traffic, police, fire and rescue and emergency services) has worked tirelessly to save lives. The system works like a well-oiled machine and we are deeply grateful to these heroes.
We look forward to a prosperous 2018, when job creation will remain a priority for our people. Where opportunities in road construction exist, we will act swiftly to enable local communities to draw economic benefit from them, always bearing in mind that roads are not just built for vehicles, but for people.
Mxolisi Simon Sokatsha is the Northern Cape MEC
for the department of roads and public works