The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) has been recognised for making massive road infrastructure investments in the Eastern Cape province.
SANRAL received the Premier’s Special Recognition Award at the Batho Pele Service Excellence and Innovation Awards ceremony held in East London on Thursday, 9 March 2023.
The awards recognise public servants and various stakeholders who provide excellent service delivery by putting people first. It also highlights their contribution and the role played in developing the economy of the province.
“At the heart of our success should be the culture of our professionalism that we must consistently instil in our workforce. As we celebrate the achievements of our employees, we must also recognise the challenges that lie ahead. We face a rapid world ahead that demands new skills, new approaches and new ways of thinking. This is the year of decisive action to advance the interest of our people,” said Eastern Cape Premier, Oscar Mabuyane.
The roads agency has invested R7.2 billion in road infrastructure during the 2022/2023 financial year.
“SANRAL has long been a key and strategic partner to the Provincial Government and local municipalities in the Eastern Cape,” Mabuyane said.
The rationale for recognition of the award included: the maintenance and improvement of the National N-routes through the province over the past two decades whereby SANRAL has taken over responsibility for all the major provincial “R”-Routes, as well as many other key economic routes. In this way, they ensure that all the provincial strategic mobility and transport corridors can serve their strategic social and economic functions for the people and visitors to the Eastern Cape.
The award also recognises SANRAL who has over the years acted as an implementing agent for projects funded by the Eastern Cape Provincial Treasury and the Provincial Transport Department and partnered with both Metros on projects of mutual benefit. However, it is in the many smaller but no less important areas that SANRAL really shines. Despite only having a small compliment of staff, SANRAL officials and their appointed service providers can always be found across the length and breadth of the Eastern Cape – conducting community and stakeholder meetings, running Project Liaison Committee meetings, meeting with business, local and traditional leadership, and addressing and resolving stakeholder issues. SANRAL listens and responds.
In addition, SANRAL has also taken to heart government’s resolve to uplift and transform local business and particularly the construction industry, not just subcontractors but suppliers and service providers too. All SANRAL’S contracts not only include the minimum 30% Goal for Targeted Enterprises, but also minimum goals for local labour and the training of appointed labourers and SMMEs.
SANRAL also extends their mandate to the development of micro-enterprises in the province through multiple stand-alone mentoring and training contracts using the construction of local access roads. Communities alongside SANRAL projects also benefit from non-construction related skills training and other legacy projects.
The direct and indirect economic benefits of all the SANRAL projects across the province are significant. The direct benefits include job creation for both skilled and unskilled persons as well as job opportunities for contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and service providers based in the Eastern Cape. Indirect benefits include downstream job creation and economic growth through the turnover effect of monies spent by SANRAL on projects in the Eastern Cape and the lower cost and time savings accrued by motorists and freight operators using improved SANRAL routes across the Eastern Cape.
“We are honoured to have received this prestigious accolade. Our staff members and professional partners can be proud of the world-class infrastructure that we have built and continue to build. The infrastructure that we build is not only to mobility but to improve road safety and accessibility to facilities,” said SANRAL Southern Regional Manager Mbulelo Peterson.
