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The upgrading of the R573 Moloto Road from Slovo to Siyabuswa under the Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality in Limpopo will fast-track youth employment and create sub-contracting opportunities for small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) to help alleviate the jobs crisis in the municipality, the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) has said.

SANRAL hosted information sessions recently to provide project information to various stakeholders and community members within the local municipality, to introduce the main contractor, Raubex Construction, and provide an update on the project activities.

SANRAL says that the R362 million project consists of the construction of five new roundabouts, an undivided four-lane dual carriageway with a median barrier in between, and street lighting, improvement of stormwater drainage, pedestrian crossings, walkways and public transport stops, among others.

“Stakeholder is 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 most importantly give information about opportunities and benefits available from the projects,” said Moloko Masenya, SANRAL’s Stakeholder Co-ordinator responsible for Limpopo Section of the R573 upgrade.

Navil Pontsho Mamakoko, the owner of Tsa Magaeng Enterprise, an SMME which was part of the event, was happy with the information session. “In today’s engagement, I have observed that 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,” said 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.” 

A member of the Project Liaison Committee, Michael Mathebe, attested to the challenges that the local businesses and local members of the community are facing and was grateful to SANRAL for bringing the 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 said.

Mathebe said that the common thing that community members in the municipality wished to obtain was training and skills development opportunities. “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.” 

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 sub-contracting.

Issued by SANRAL