The Department of Transport hosted a Road Construction and Maintenance Summit on 24 and 25 May 2010 at the Gallagher Estate in Johannesburg.
Officially opened by Transport Minister S'busiso Ndebele, the Summit was attended by Transport Deputy Minister Jeremy Cronin, delegates representing key transport stakeholders from across the country including, Transport MECs, Transport Director-General, provincial heads of department, mayors and members of mayoral committees, members of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), engineers in infrastructure construction and transport specialist from provinces and municipalities, transport entities and senior government officials.
Delegates deliberated on and made recommendations regarding critical road construction and maintenance related matters, among which were:
* broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) and women in road construction
* road safety and law enforcement
* delivery models for construction and development
* capacity development relating to road construction and maintenance and
* information and decision support systems and funding streams
Some of the challenges experienced in the construction and maintenance of roads range from efficient spending on road infrastructure, balancing between preservation and expansion, road asset management systems as a tool for optimal decision-making, capacity and skills development constraints faced by the transport sector and the role and empowerment of women in the transport sector.
The Minister announced that the Department of Transport is working with National Treasury to consider various options, including a dedicated Road Infrastructure Maintenance Fund that prioritises maintenance and a ring-fencing mechanism, to deal with the road maintenance backlogs and challenges at provincial and local level.
"At this Roads Summit over the next couple of days we want to ensure that our road network at primary and secondary level continues to play an important part in the development of our economy. Our roads must help us address the inequalities of the past by developing our rural areas and creating jobs. It is not the wealth of the country that builds roads; it is the roads that build the wealth of the country," said the Minister Ndebele during the Summit.
Road construction and maintenance are among crucial factors in the process of economic growth, job creation and social development in general. Some of the recommendations taken during the Summit include the following:
* Creation of more jobs to benefit the sector with Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) incentive funding.
* Department of Transport to facilitate the development of a policy for Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA) partnership with private sector and improve accessibility to training programmes.
* Ensuring appropriate technical skills are available at all government levels.
* Aligning business processes and regulatory framework to ensure the achievement of broader economic and social objectives and targets.
* Undertaking research to develop alternative local materials for road construction and maintenance in an environmental friendly manner and
* Rolling out of the freight logistics strategy to facilitate the movement of appropriate freight from road to rail.
The summit agreed that a Task Team be established to take the process forward under the guidance of the Department of Transport. The Team will be composed of officials from the various key stakeholder groupings in road construction and maintenance. They will report back to their respective principals, following which the process will be taken to MinMec and finally to Cabinet.
Enquiries:
Sello Tshipi
Tel: 012 309 3846
Fax: 012 309 3313
Cell: 073 498 6722
E-mail: Tshipia@dot.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Transport
26 May 2010
