Blog

The Chairman of SANRAL’s Board, Mr Themba Mhambi, made it clear that SANRAL was committed to transforming the construction industry, would not allow fronting and was entirely committed to ensuring that smaller players felt the economic impact of government’s road infrastructure programmes.

Mhambi was addressing close to 300 local entrepreneurs at SANRAL’s flagship Taking SANRAL to the People stakeholder engagement programme in De Aar.“You have to invest in those small contractors when you need grass cutting done, or cleaning of the road,” said Mhambi. “However, these subcontractors cannot be grass cutters and cleaners forever. You have to train and develop them to take on bigger projects. To date SANRAL has more than 3,000 subcontractors countrywide who have been upskilled as a direct result of this method of contractor capacity building that SANRAL has championed, as far as RRM is concerned.”

The Northern Cape’s MEC for Transport, Safety and Liaison, Ms Nontobeka Vilakazi, said government was determined to see more people benefitting from the economic opportunities presented by infrastructure programmes. “We, representing the Government of South Africa, are here to ensure that we widen the net of economic inclusion for all our people, to ensure that they benefit from the massive infrastructure maintenance and development programmes of SANRAL,” said Vilikazi.SANRAL Stakeholder Relations Manager Siphiwo Mxhosa said, he recognise the critical role SANRAL plays in the construction and related industries and we are mindful of the impact the construction industry and its procurement has on millions of people across South Africa, not just in the big cities but in the very heart of rural South Africa. We therefore recognize the need to use our procurement to maximise the participation of emerging and small black contractors, professionals, and suppliers in all SANRAL commissioned projects.”

The engagement in De Aar was one in a series of conversations to ensure emerging black businesses are geared up and capacitated to access the economic development opportunities associated with SANRAL’s road maintenance and construction projects across the Northern Cape.

Randall Cable, SANRAL’s Western Region Manager responsible for the Northern Cape and Western Cape said: “We understand that our roads are not only built to accommodate vehicles, but that people are at the very heart of what we do. To this end, SANRAL’s projects are guided by a commitment to SMME development, a 14-point plan that prioritises community engagement, a transformation policy that seeks to advance black business and an overall strategy that is aligned to the government’s National Development Plan.”

The South African National Roads Agency Limited’s (SANRAL) northern region will be undertaking a number of projects in the Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality over the coming months. These will include routine road maintenance projects (RRMs) on the R71, R529 and the R36.

Road maintenance projects are ongoing throughout the roads agency’s national road network and are day to day maintenance projects which include grass cutting, pavement maintenance, and earthworks.

“These projects will enhance the road user experience along these roads and improve the local communities’ mobility and safety when travelling. They will also provide a transport system that delivers a better life for the local communities,” says Madoda Mthembu, SANRAL northern region’s operations and maintenance manager.

He was briefing local communities, small, micro and medium enterprises and local and provincial authorities today (Thursday, 20 February) as part of SANRAL’s flagship Taking SANRAL to the People programme.

“The current routine maintenance project started in February 2016, employing local small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) and community members. The R71/Deerpark road intersection will be undertaken in partnership with the Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL).

“We see this as an opportunity not only to improve and upgrade the country’s road infrastructure, which plays a critical role in our economic development, but also improve the lives of those communities who are based on or near these routes. It gives them not only better access to opportunities but allows us to help play a meaningful role in their upliftment through access to work opportunities,” says Mthembu.

The Taking SANRAL to the People programme is an opportunity for the roads agency to interact with its stakeholders – who range from government officials, traditional leaders, business, and communitybased organisation among others– and forge partnerships with them as part of its ongoing efforts to improve the local communities’ socio-economic conditions.

“It is SANRAL’s responsibility to involve the community in the immediate vicinity of its projects. Bringing the roads agency to Tzaneen is an opportunity for us to not only inform stakeholders about our projects in the region, but also an opportunity to highlight our commitment to transformation in the construction industry,” says Siphiwo Mxhosa, SANRAL’s stakeholder relations manager.

Through its Transformation and Horizon 2030 strategies, SANRAL has a proactive response to create a national road transport system that serves as an “economic artery”, delivering an improved standard of living for citizens that live alongside its projects.

SANRAL will over the next three years undertake more than 150 road construction projects in the Eastern Cape with at least 37 of those located in the O.R. Tambo District Municipality. These projects are expected to create over 8000 jobs and see approximately R2.8 billion flow to SMMEs, the bulk of whom will be from the O.R. Tambo and Alfred Nzo Districts.

An economic lifeline of this magnitude has the potential to significantly change the lives of the citizens in this district, and for this reason, SANRAL today facilitated a stakeholder engagement session with local stakeholders in the district including Traditional Leadership, SMMEs, provincial and local government, business and civil society at large.

Two of the major conventional road construction projects in the Eastern Cape, the Mtentu and Msikaba Bridges, are in the O.R. Tambo District Municipality. The Mtentu Bridge project involves the construction of a 1342m reinforced concrete viaduct bridge over the Mtentu River gorge, while the Msikaba Bridge involves the construction of a 580m span Cable Stay Bridge over the Msikaba River gorge. These bridges form the backbone of the greenfield portion of the N2 Wild Coast Toll Road (N2WCTR) project – one of government’s 18 Strategic Integrated Projects. Once completed the new shorter, flatter and faster N2WCTR will cut travelling time between Mthatha and Durban by between 1,5 and 3 hours resulting in a time-cost saving of approx. R1,5 billion per annum for road users. In addition to improving logistics and trade between the Eastern Cape and KZN the new route will also stimulate local economic development for the Pondoland area, particularly in tourism.

Another crucial infrastructure improvement project is the upgrade of the N2 Section 18 from Viedgesville to Mthatha, from a single carriageway to a dual carriageway. This will significantly increase the existing traffic capacity, improve mobility, reduce congestion and improve road safety as well as overall road user experience.

The construction of bridges, intersection widenings and livestock underpasses on the R61 Section 8, from Libode East to Mngazi is also a key upgrade project. This entails the construction of 4 new bridges, 9 underpass structures and the upgrade of 9 intersections.

SANRAL Stakeholder Relations Manager Siphiwo Mxhosa said, “We recognise the critical role SANRAL plays in the construction and related industries, and we are mindful of the impact the construction industry and its procurement have on millions of people across South Africa, not just in mainstream locations, but in the very heart of rural South Africa. As such, we accept the responsibility consequent to the above, especially the need to use our procurement to maximise the participation of emerging and small black contractors, professionals, and suppliers in all SANRAL commissioned projects.”

All unskilled labour, and as far as possible skilled and semi-skilled labour will be sourced locally, as will local SMME contractors and suppliers of goods and services needed to meet the required contractor participation goals on SANRAL projects.

To ensure that there is as much social and economic inclusion for the people of O.R. Tambo District to benefit from these opportunities, SANRAL’s projects are guided by a commitment to its Transformation Policy that seeks to advance black business, SMME development, a 14-point plan that prioritises community engagement and an overall strategy that is aligned to the government’s National Development Plan.

SANRAL Southern Region Manager Simon Peterson said, “We understand that before we build roads as economic arteries in our communities, we have a responsibility to make sure people are the at the forefront of our development plans and we are particularly driven to break down barriers of entry for broad-based participation by Black South Africans. We do however need a concerted commitment from all our stakeholders to cooperate within the parameters of the structures that are put in place, specifically the composition of Project Liaison Committees (PLCs). While not every entity can serve on the PLC, this body is mandated to act in the interest of all stakeholders”.

SANRAL remains committed to finance, improve, manage, and maintain South Africa’s expanding national road network and we want to ensure we leave behind legacies of economic empowerment in communities, that will allow us to improve the lives of our people, one kilometre at a time.

The learners and staff of Thanda Primary in Hectorspruit, Mpumalanga have plenty to smile about following the completion of Phase Four of the major upgrade undertaken by TRAC at this learning facility.

The R6 million project forms part of TRAC’s Corporate Social Investment responsibilities to communities along the N4 Toll Route and was launched in February 2018. Phase 1 saw the construction of an ablution block with enviro loos followed by the construction of the Foundation Phase block with a road-safety themed playground in phase 2. Phase 3 comprised the building of an eco-friendly, self-sustainable kitchen and seating area where the school’s 763 learners are served a daily meal as part of the National School Nutrition Programme. The fourth and final phase of the project included the building of three classroom blocks consisting of two classrooms each with every block having its own JoJo tank.

Although the initiative was funded by TRAC, it consisted of other key role players namely Earth Switch Architects who designed the new facilities and Laduma Construction who built them. Extensive planning and creativity went into the design of the new amenities to ensure that the learners enjoy first-rate facilities in a rural area. The new classrooms, for example, were designed and built in such a way that they stay cool even in the brutal heat often experienced in the Lowveld’s Nkomazi area.

Apart from giving the schools’ learners and staff the opportunity to relish in modern, new buildings, the initiative has also had a profound impact on the Nkomazi community.

At the official handover of the project TRAC CEO, Graham Esterhuysen, said that Thanda Primary has an incredibly special place in his heart. “In 2017 we were approached to assist the school with something small, but when we saw how much was needed, we decided to give it our all. It was always my biggest wish to leave one of our most prominent communities along the route the gift of education. I take immense pride in the knowledge that this has now been achieved in Nkomazi.”

“Education is crucial to the prosperity of our nation because without it there is no hope for future generations. This is why we at TRAC consider education as one of our most important CSI portfolios,” explained Mr Esterhuysen, “We are grateful that the Mpumalanga Department of Education entrusted us to serve the Nkomazi community in this manner. We are also delighted to hear of the provincial government’s commitment to continue looking after this institution to ensure it never goes without again.”