South Africa: Road Infrastructure Projects Must Benefit Poor Rural Communities in the Eastern Cape

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Transport, Mr Donald Selamolela, said big infrastructure projects must benefit communities by creating sustainable jobs that revive and revitalise the economy.

The committee is currently undertaking a week-long oversight visit to the Mtentu and Msikaba Bridge projects in the Eastern Cape. The oversight visit is part of Parliament’s pilot project on the Oversight Priority Plan for the 7th Parliament.

Mr Selamolela said the Mtentu and Msikaba bridge project is as a model example of how the roll-out of such projects can up-skill and benefit local people. “The committee has witnessed how the project’s skills transfer is achieved and secure jobs are created,” Mr Selamolela said.

“Infrastructural projects, particularly in rural provinces like KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, should be the springboards upon which our economy is revitalised.”In addition to completed projects, there has to be a sustainable maintenance plan that contributes to sustainable jobs into the future, the Chairperson added.

The committee wishes to further emphasise the commendable progress and positive contributions made by government-led infrastructure projects and interventions. However, the committee is concerned to hear that significant projects, such as this one, are hijacked by community demands that are unrelated to the projects’ objectives.

“Often these kinds of projects become a nightmare to complete as financial demands made by communities are not aligned with deliverables of the projects. We are aware of incidents where companies in the country had deserted sites, because of rivalry among community groupings and community leaders; this remains a serious concern for the committee,” Mr Selamolela said.

The committee’s oversight visit programme aims to provide committee members with information on project maintenance, repair and infrastructure projects. “The time to unleash the real potential of infrastructure projects is now. Everyone knows that these kinds of projects area game changer when it comes to employment creation and economic growth,” the Chairperson said.

Mr Selamolela called on communities surrounding the infrastructure projects to take ownership of the projects and fight any disturbances, including community demands for money. “Half of our unemployment problems would have been resolved, if communities can work with our government,developers and implementers of road and rail infrastructure projects,” he added.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.