The days of dilapidated and potholed roads in Alexandra may soon be a thing of the past if only the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (Sanral) can deliver on its promise made to the community of this township.
Sanral has invited Alexandra SMMEs and others within Region E of the City of Johannesburg to collaborate in the rollout of its roads projects in the metro which could see the rejuvination of dilapidated Vicent Tshabalala Road, formerly London Road.
Other worn-out roads include the popular Alfred Nzo Street, the Rev Dr Sam Buti Street, Joe Nhlanhla Street and Florence Mphosho Street, formerly Vasco Da Gama Street.
The Sanral call to SMMEs was made during a public engagement with the people of Alexandra and other stakeholders recently whose main focus was to encourage local SMMEs to be a part of driving the road infrastructure agenda that Sanral has been mandated to deliver.
Speaking at its flagship programme of ‘Taking Sanral to the People’ of Alexandra, Sanral’s stakeholder relations manager, Siphiwo Mxhosa, said the ‘Horizon 2030’ strategy is a third strategy that has been developed by Sanral since the agency was established in 1998.
He said Sanral has a duty to contribute to the socio-economic well-being of South Africans, specifically when it comes to road infrastructure development. “We are here today to collaborate with the greater community within the City of Johannesburg.
“We believe that collaboration is key to ensuring that we can maintain and manage our national road assets; therefore, we call on community-based SMMEs to take advantage of the opportunities provided by Sanral.
“Through every project, we deliver in this city, we want to enhance and ensure a cohesive way of working with the local businesses in the jurisdiction of the City. We are dedicated to develop the skills and facilitating the process of improving their gradings as construction SMMEs,” said Mxhosa.
Sanral board member Thamsanqa Matosa emphasised the entity’s transformation agenda on its projects. “When we talk about our transformation agenda, we are addressing the imbalances of the past and ensuring that previously disadvantaged individuals benefit from our projects.
“We want to uplift those that are at the bottom of the economic scale. Grade one contractors, for example, need to be assisted by Sanral so that they participate in the mainstream economy.”
Sanral has earmarked three major projects in the City and these include routine road maintenance; conventional projects, which encompass concrete pavement repairs and a freeway lighting maintenance project.
These projects will be on Sanral’s national roads within the City of Johannesburg, the N1, N3, N12 as well as the N17. Expected to go over 36 months, the projects will traverse across 40 wards within the City.
Typical activities to be carried out across all three projects will include the establishment of camps on-site, inspecting road lighting and night inspections and repairing damaged lighting infrastructure. Accommodation of traffic will also be undergone, as well as the installation and replacement of damaged equipment.
The City’s Region E director, Liziwe Ntshinga-Makoro, appreciated Sanral’s efforts in reaching out to the City. “By convening programmes such as this one, Sanral is demonstrating its efforts in reaching out and collaborating with the different spheres of government.
“Through working together with Sanral, we will also continue to ensure that we support and facilitate fair and transparent processes when Sanral rolls out its tenders in the City,” she said.
