Media are cordially invited to join Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele, Eastern Cape MEC for Transport, Roads and Public Works Ms Thandiswa Marawu, Executive Mayor of the OR Tambo District Municipality as well as other senior officials at the launch of the S'hamba Sonke Roads Programme in the Eastern Cape on Friday.
The S'hamba Sonke - Moving Together roads infrastructure upgrade and maintenance programme, which was officially launched by Minister Ndebele in KwaZulu-Natal on 18 April 2011, is a new roads upgrade and maintenance initiative to fix and upgrade the entire secondary road network of South Africa. The programme will create new opportunities for emerging contractors and jobs across the country. In the Eastern Cape, R1 billion rand will be spent on the programme during the current (2011/12) financial year.
Details of the event are as follows:
Date: Friday, 13 May 2011
Venue:Zithulele Administrative Area, Phuthuma Location in Mqanduli, KSD Municipal area, Eastern Cape
Time: 09h30 for 10h00
RSVP:Journalists attending must please confirm their attendance by no later than 12h00 on Thursday, 12 May 2011 with:
Mthunzikazi Mbungwana
Tel: 012 309 3960
E-mail: MbungwaM@dot.gov.za or
Sello Tshipi
Tel: 073 498 6722
E-mail: TshipiA@dot.gov.za
In partnership with all provinces, the S'hamba Sonke programme will improve access to schools, clinics and other social and economic opportunities by drastically upgrading the secondary roads network and fixing and repairing potholes throughout the country. An amount of R6,4 billion will be spent on this initiative across the Republic in 2011/12.
S'hamba Sonke is a new and innovative, nation-wide drive to focus on the maintenance of the secondary road infrastructure using labour intensive methods of construction and maintenance.
The Department of Transport has set aside R6.4 billion in 2011/12, R7.5bn in 2012/13 and R8.2 bn for 2013/14, amounting to a total of R22.3 bn in the medium term.
Approximately 70 000 jobs will be created during the 2011/12 financial year as a target in relation to the routine maintenance of roads and infrastructure in line with the Zibambele initiative.
Zibambele, which means "doing it ourselves", is a form of routine road maintenance using labour-intensive methods in which a family or household is contracted through a provincial Department to maintain a specific length of road on a part-time basis. The national roll-out of the Zibambele initiative will form part of S'hamba Sonke.
Historically, South Africa has invested mainly in the construction of roads without striking the balance between maintenance and construction, whilst the international benchmark is a 60/40 split between maintenance and construction. Through programmes such as S'hamba Sonke, South Africa will be able to match the international benchmark.
