The South African National Roads Agency Limited's (Sanral's) upgrade of the portion of the R573 Moloto road from Slovo to Siyabuswa in the Elias Motsoaledi local municipality, in Limpopo, will create subcontracting opportunities for small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs) in the municipality, the agency says.
Sanral hosted information sessions recently to provide project information to various stakeholders and community members within the local municipality, which is facing a jobs crisis, to introduce the main contractor Raubex Construction and provide an update on the project activities.
The R362-million project comprises the construction of five new roundabouts, an undivided four-lane dual carriageway with a median barrier, street lighting, the improvement of stormwater drainage, pedestrian crossings, walkways and public transport stops, besides others.
Sanral recognises that it can help to build a capable and developmental State and drive economic development through the provision and maintenance of critical infrastructure. Local businesses and communities will access employment through this project, as well as opportunities to tender for subcontracting.
“Stakeholders are one of the key pillars in Sanral’s Horizon 2030 strategy. It is under this pillar that Sanral reaches out to communities with an effort to engage them about its projects and give information about opportunities and benefits available from the projects,” says Sanral R573 upgrade Limpopo Section stakeholder coordinator Moloko Masenya.
The common thing that community members in the municipality wished to obtain was training and skills development opportunities, notes Sanral project liaison committee member Michael Mathebe.
“People want to be offered road maintenance training. The members of the community, including businesses, would like to see themselves doing work in other maintenance-related packages that would be needed once this project is completed.”
Local businesses and local members of the community are facing challenges and the community is grateful to Sanral for bringing opportunities through this upgrade.
“Most of the challenges we are facing are because we are living in communities where the unemployment rate is high, and where most people, especially the youth, are not working,” he says.
“During the engagement, I observed Sanral is doing something to leave a legacy within our municipality, the roads agency empowers local community members and small businesses with training and skills from participating in its construction projects,” says local SMME Tsa Magaeng Enterprise owner Navil Pontsho Mamakoko.
“We would like to see more growth and empowerment opportunities reaching us. As members of the community, we have no adequate training resources and Sanral projects are our hope to obtain experience.
"We would like to see ourselves using the training we obtained from Sanral elsewhere in the future as emerging businesses and as young people,” he says.