Transport key to national development
SAM MASHININI
The Free State Department of Police, Roads and Transport has the responsibility to promote accessibility and the safe, affordable movement of people, goods and services.
This is done through the delivery and maintenance of transport infrastructure that is sustainable, integrated and environmentally sensitive, and supports and facilitates social empowerment and economic growth.
The transport sector is at the heart of the country’s development and road infrastructure must always be in top condition to ensure the safety of motorists and pedestrians.
In recent years there has been an increase in overloading of trucks which has resulted in a marked deterioration in the condition of the Free State’s road network.
I am pleased that the traffic control centres at Senekal and Kroonstad have been upgraded by SANRAL in partnership with the Free State Department of Police, Roads and Transport.
This will certainly go a long way towards curbing the extensive overloading of trucks. Drivers of heavy vehicles will be issued a fine if the vehicle exceeds the permissible mass on gross mass and/or axle unit mass.
Traffic officers are stationed at the traffic control centres to inspect the roadworthiness of vehicles on a 24-hour basis. Special emphasis is placed on tyres and the braking system.
In the quest to integrate transport planning and implementation, a Transport Planning Forum has been launched and I am pleased that SANRAL is represented on this important body.
Transport directly affects economic growth, quality of life and plays an important role in the dynamics of urban settlements.
Effective modes of transport, including roads, rail, maritime and air as well as the supporting infrastructure, enable businesses and farmers to get their goods and services to the market in a secure and timely manner and facilitate the movement of the workforce to the most suitable jobs.
Transport’s multi-disciplinary nature necessitates a comprehensive, intermodal approach and integrated transport planning is, therefore, a positive way to more sustainable transport systems.
All three spheres of government have a key role in transport planning, implementation and maintenance of transport infrastructure and services.
However, many of the challenges in South Africa’s transport system are due to a lack of integrated planning by the three spheres of government and the application of a proper transport planning model.
A single body representing all levels of government will ensure a cohesive transport planning spectrum.
The Free State Transport Planning Forum will actively and proactively assist, support, guide and monitor all spheres of government in striving towards the transport vision; and create a framework of monitoring private transport operators in order to ensure the attainment of economic inclusion and job creation.
Sam Mashinini is the Free State MEC
for Police, Roads and Transport
Speaking with one voice
SKHUMBUZO MACOZOMA
At SANRAL we pride ourselves ourselves in the sterling role we play in our ongoing efforts to finance, improve, manage and maintain the national road network, as obliged by our distinct mandate.
Often referred to as “our economic arteries”, South Africa’s 22 214km national road network provides an impetus for the country’s economic activity.
It is through our national road network that people, goods and services travel the length and breadth of this country, contributing to its economic growth and development.
In the Free State, we particularly recognise the role we play in the development of the construction and related industries.
By employing local community members and ensuring that local small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) participate in SANRAL projects, the roads agency continues to have an enormous impact on the transformation of the construction industry.
Moreover, working together with provincial and local government, our involvement in key forums such as the Transport Planning Forum, allows us to participate in the coordinated planning of initiatives and speak with a single voice when it comes to addressing the province’s transport needs.
The Free State is at the centre of SANRAL’s key infrastructure projects. Projects such as the Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) 3: Durban- Free State-Gauteng logistics and industrial corridor attest to this.
This major project will transform the province’s economic landscape by strengthening the logistics and transport corridor between the country’s main industrial hubs. It will also serve as a conduit between Durban’s import and export facilities and the envisaged aerotropolis around O.R. Tambo International Airport in Gauteng. Of course, all of this will be made possible by the N3, which transverses the Free State.
Our major projects such as the upgrading of the N5 between Harrismith and Industriqwa, upgrading of the N6 from Rouxville to Smithfield, and upgrading of the N1 from Ventersburg to Holfontein, have not only provided job opportunities for locals, but have also provided them with life-long skills.
In these three projects alone, 63 SMMEs benefited and 872 locals were offered job opportunities.
Our community development projects are proof positive that SANRAL goes beyond building and maintaining roads.
Through our community development projects in the Free State, we continue to ensure that local people benefit. This means prioritising SMMEs and employing locals to work on SANRAL projects. In each of these cases, we continue to engage communities to establish what their needs are.
Our endeavours in the Free State do not end there. As part of our efforts to ensure that South African students can measure up to international standards in the mathematical world, SANRAL sponsors a Chair in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education at the University of the Free State.
This confirms SANRAL’s commitment to the growth of young talent, particularly in subjects required for the country’s economic development.
Skhumbuzo Macozoma is SANRAL’s CEO
BUILDING SOUTH AFRICA THROUGH BETTER ROADS
HELLO FREE STATE 2019