Taking SANRAL to Chris Hani District Municipality
"I have taken the lessons learnt in the classes provided by SANRAL and put them into practice on the job sites. I started as a Grade 1 CIDB SMME and today I am a Grade 5," said Nomfuneko Bojana Matshoba.
Bojana Matshoba, owner of Mickey Mouse Trading, shared her journey with the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) during the 'Taking SANRAL to the People' stakeholder engagement session held in Queenstown on Thursday, 25 July 2019.
The 'Taking SANRAL to the People' stakeholder engagement session is aimed at promoting dialogue between the roads agency, all spheres of government, business fraternity, communities, emerging contractors and other key stakeholders that are affected by SANRAL projects.
"I have grabbed every opportunity that SANRAL has given me with both hands. It was not easy. I had to meet the criteria before being accepted into the learnership training programme. I started working as a general worker, being trained to become a supervisor and was placed at a bigger contractor's site as an intern doing in-service training in order for us to be competent supervisors. I am now able to do everything by myself, from quantifying my BOQ, daily site diaries, costing measurements, payment certificates, monitor quality control, cost and production daily and making sure that I maintain my statutory obligation compliance at all times. I look forward to receiving my Grade 7 CIDB certification, on the SANRAL sub-contract job that I am currently busy with," Bojana Matshoba said.
"I have invested in learning before earning because I know that knowledge is power and it will make me succeed in this space of the civil engineering industry and built environment," she said.
SANRAL in the Eastern Cape manages a road network of 4 952 kilometres; this is 22% of its total 22 214km national road network. Since 2009, SANRAL has injected R33.3 billion in the Eastern Cape's road network.
The roads agency has over 150 projects lined up in different parts of the province for the next three financial years (2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22). Some are in the planning phase, some in the design phase and some in the construction phase.
The southern region's top 10 capex projects (completed or ongoing) situated within Chris Hani District Municipality include:
* The R67 from Swart Kei River to Queenstown, situated in Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality, valued at over R400 million, will commence in 2020.* The construction of walkways to address safe and all-weather pedestrian mobility, as well as the upgrading of the R56 traversing the towns of Indwe, Elliot Ugie and Maclear, in Emalahleni Local Municipality, valued at R635 million, has been completed.
Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality Mayor Luleka Gubhula said they were "humbled" by SANRAL hosting the stakeholder engagement in their jurisdiction. "We are truly humbled that towards the close of Mandela Month, SANRAL is hosting the leg of dialogue in Komani, a town strategically located at the centre of not only Enoch Mgijima, but the greater Chris Hani District," she said.
"SANRAL leadership has faith in the potential that Komani and its surroundings have in the context of its Horizon 2030 Strategy. We too wish to emphasise our faith in our potential for growth and meaningful transformation. We do so because of the friendly N6 route that positions Komani at the centre of the road network of the Eastern Cape, connecting all provinces in South Africa and about six countries in the SADC region," said Mayor Gubhula.
SANRAL's mandate also entails performing routine road maintenance (RRM) on the road network. In this regard, the agency maintains several routes within Chris Hani District Municipality.
SANRAL's major road infrastructure delivery projects in Chris Hani District include the upgrading of the R67 between Queenstown and Whittlesea, which has seen training of several candidate engineers, as well as skills development and transfer through small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) development programmes.
Part of the engagement was to inform stakeholders of ongoing projects and upcoming tenders.
Mbulelo Peterson, SANRAL Southern Region Manager, said: "SANRAL is committed to growing SMMEs in the road construction industry. It is important for us to support contractors from the beginning and provide them with the necessary training that will assist them when it comes to the tendering process as well," said Peterson.
"This engagement is also for sharing our Horizon 2030 vision and transformation policy. Through our transformation policy, we promote inclusive participation by all stakeholders, ensure skills training, and the transfer of knowledge and experience to small construction businesses," Peterson said.