41, the Resident Engineer
working for SMEC SA
“As a student, I used to drive this road from Uitenhage when going to have fun and the traffic was bad. So, fixing this road is more like giving back to the community that raised me.”
Unathi Sonti, 34, Public Liaison Officer
“This project will benefit the community and other surrounding areas. We have created SMME developmental projects which were aimed at enhancing the CIDB grading level of the SMMEs. There will be 51 SMME contractors working on the site. An estimated number of people who will be employed will be around 10 people per SMME, depending on the scope of the contract awarded.”
Solethu Kela, 33, Engineer
“The project is very challenging, and it runs through 10 wards. We encounter a lot of SMME challenges, where most do not understand tendering procedures. Some even want to be awarded tenders without tendering. We prioritise mostly youth and women. We want to increase the level of female participation in the field of construction and lower the rate of youth unemployment.”
Roy van Leave, 33, a site agent
“The agency is moving in the right direction in terms of diversification in changing the landscape in the industry. A lot must be put into place before things run smoothly but I see a difference in development of black contractors.”
Zikhona Sana, 22, a student at Eastcape Training Center (ETC)
“I have been using this road for almost four months. The road has a high traffic in the morning and in times of protests as well. It will benefit the community because it will reduce accidents and the improvements will make the place look nicer like the big cities, such as Johannesburg.”
Farayi Shakwe, 37, street vendor
“The road will benefit us by reducing accidents and traffic. The other thing is that there is a mall just opposite the road yet there is no pedestrian lane on these roads, which threatens the safety of locals who visit the mall on a daily basis.”
Bulelwa Kiti, 39, a cook operating from an informal trading container
“Upgrading of roads will increase traffic flow and will mean more customers for us. If the road leads to where we are it means that traffic flow will be better, and we will then be here for longer.”