Creating social value through construction

R oad construction and maintenance programmes across the country contribute greatly to socio-economic transformation, job creation and poverty reduction in communities. At all its projects SANRAL ensures that its construction activities add social value to communities living in proximity to the road. Blackowned small-,medium-and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) are prioritised for sub-contracts on all construction and road maintenance projects, while preference is given to local companies for the supply of materials and services.

Moreover, SANRAL creates social value to society through:

  • Community development projects, which enhance infrastructure in areas located close to the primary network
  • Road safety programmes that combine education, effective responses to incidents and the engineering of safer roads
  • Support to universities to train engineering professionals, conduct research and develop initiatives to

In the past year, SANRAL provided 1 886 opportunities for SMMEs to participate in road construction, rehabilitation and maintenance projects. Black-owned enterprises received 77% of the R3bn allocated for such projects.

This created 36 678 work opportunities, of which 57% were filled by young people under the age of 35. One in four of the jobs were taken up by women.

Support to universities to train engineering professionals, conduct research and develop initiatives to improve outcomes in maths and science teaching

employed. The intention is to equip individuals with skills that can later be used to find employment in the wider construction and engineering sectors. In 2017/18 some 3 421 workers benefited from 6 237 training courses offered.

Through these initiatives, SANRAL makes valuable contributions to the alleviation of major social and economic challenges in the country. Social transformation is part of SANRAL’s core business and its activities contribute to the national efforts to address widespread poverty, high unemployment and extreme inequality.


Safer roads lead to safer communities

S afer road infrastructure, better road-user behaviour and more effective responses to road incidents can help to bring down the unacceptably high rate of fatalities on South Africa’s roads.

In each of these areas, SANRAL plays an increasingly important role to help save lives and reduce the economic impact of crashes on the country’s economy.

SANRAL’s approach to road safety is in line with global best practices, as defined by the United Nations, which has declared the period leading up to 2020 as a Decade for Action on Road Safety. It is also consistent with South Africa’s own National Road Safety Strategy 2016-2030.

In recent years, SANRAL worked with local academics and educators to better understand the attitudes and behaviour towards road safety among school learners. This led to the development of targeted training programmes and teaching material educators can use in classroom situations within communities located close to the SANRAL road network.

The aim is to integrate road safety education into the regular curriculum and ensure learners have access to age-appropriate content. Through interactive teaching, the children can acquire

knowledge and skills that will enable them to adopt safe road-use behaviour. All road improvement programmes are, to a degree, safety interventions.

In many cases these programmes are undertaken to tackle hazards, eradicate crash “hot spots” and introduce safety features that compensate for human fallibility.

Among the initiatives taken by SANRAL are:

  • Projects to double the capacity of singlecarriageway roads to accommodate major increases in road volumes on many routes.
    This contributes to safe overtaking and reduces the risk of head-on collisions.
  • The replacement of a dangerously narrow bridge over the Olifants River near Vanrhynsdorp in the Western Cape. The new bridge complies with all safety requirements.
  • The introduction of roundabouts at several intersections of national and regional roads where serious crashes have often occurred.
  • Multiple projects for the construction of dedicated pedestrian facilities such as paved sidewalks and pedestrian bridges over busy highways.

Effective responses to road incidents can contribute to significant reductions in road fatalities. SANRAL is the agency responsible for the planning and implementation of the national road incident management system (RIMS).

Through RIMS, the efforts of law enforcement, emergency response teams and the health services are coordinated to contribute to safer roads.

The objective is to detect incidents early, respond rapidly and use resources efficiently to save lives and minimise traffic disruption.

RIMS is being rolled out across the country and, together with the Department of Transport, SANRAL is working towards its objective to implement the system in neighbouring countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

BUILDING SOUTH AFRICA THROUGH BETTER ROADS

People's Guide 2018