The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) will spend more than R150-million on a special road maintenance project between Cookhouse and Bedford in the Eastern Cape, which is expected to be completed in 18 months.

The R63 national road project, valued at R155-million, will create much-needed job opportunities for local community members and small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs) in the local municipalities of Blue Crane and Raymond Mhlaba, says Sanral Southern Region transformation officer Thandile Makwabe.

Further, the agency, working with the two municipalities, has allocated a training budget on the project to upskill local SMMEs, especially those emerging contractors in the lower grades, as determined by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), he adds.

“The scope of work on this project will include the recycling of existing pavement surface and base layer, the replacement of three existing culverts, crack sealing and replacement of defective fencing, as well as the repair of inlet and outlet structures of culverts,” Makwabe highlights.

“We have taken great care ensuring that we will start with the mobilisation period before the project starts. The mobilisation period is the period in which the appointed contractor on the project will interact with the community and set up contract participation goals, which is the amount that will be allocated to SMME development,” Sanral Southern Region SMME coordinator Vanda Nqunqa points out.

“These matters will be discussed within the first three months together with the project liaison committee (PLC),” she notes.

“Sanral continues to devise means to ensure that local communities continue to benefit from its procurement processes. Guided by our transformation policy, we always ensure that there is transparency and equal opportunities for local community members on our projects. We continue to ensure that there is maximum participation of women, youth, people with disabilities and military veterans, to mention but a few, in our procurement processes,” says Nqunqa.

Blue Crane local municipality councillor Zamuxolo Baskiti says there is high unemployment in the municipality and the project is expected to help to alleviate this.

Meanwhile, Sanral’s 14 Point Plan, which is a guide to facilitate better project-level liaison with local communities and structures that are affected by its projects, will assist in ensuring transparency and inclusivity with local communities that will work on the project, Sanral Southern Region stakeholder coordinator Welekazi Ndika says.

“We envisage to have established a PLC when construction starts on this project. Steps have already been undertaken to establish a PLC.

"The PLC will assist in creating a platform for project liaison, works execution, subcontracting and facilitating employment opportunities for local community members. All community representatives, including the youth, women, people with disabilities and military veterans, must be represented in the PLC,” she adds.

“Sanral continuously strives to strengthen its relationship with stakeholders who are affected by its projects through these information sessions. The sessions are not only a platform for the roads agency to share information about job opportunities on its projects, but also to share information about its transformation policy and Horizon 2030 Strategy.

“Through its Horizon 2030 Strategy, the agency has empowered local communities and SMMEs with information and by giving them opportunities and enabling them to partner with more established construction companies on its projects,” Ndika says.