Pretoria - The S’hamba Sonke Programme has played an important role in both job creation and road maintenance, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters announced in the department’s Budget Vote address, on Wednesday.
The S’hamba Sonke programme, launched in April 2011, is dedicated to road maintenance on secondary roads and rural roads, with particular emphasis on repairing potholes, using labour-intensive methods of construction and maintenance.
Speaking at the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Minister Peters said through the Provincial Road Maintenance Grant (PRMG), the budget allocation for S’hamba Sonke in 2014/15 was R9.4 billon for 725 projects.
“Provinces were able to achieve commendable results with the maintenance of secondary road network through this Programme, whereby a total of over 170 000 jobs were created.
“In the current financial year, provinces will receive an allocation of R9.8 billion for the 1 102 approved projects,” she said.
The budget for the programme allocated to provinces is as follows:
- R1.3 billion for the Eastern Cape;
- R1.8 billion for KwaZulu-Natal;
- R998 million for Limpopo;
- R1.7 billion for Mpumalanga;
- R1.1 billion for Free State;
- R456 million for Gauteng;
- R822 million for North West;
- R859 million for Western Cape; and
- R788 million for Northern Cape.
The Minister said road infrastructure remains a critical area of the transportation system and still carries the bulk of the movement of goods, services and people.
“Provinces are facing serious challenges in dealing with road maintenance and rehabilitation backlogs due to shortage in budget allocations,” she said.
According to the budget review, the provinces improved their spending on the S’hamba Sonke programme by 100% in 2014/15, and that spending is set to be maintained in the current financial year.
For the current financial year, the Minister said, the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) will proceed with its implementation programme which includes projects such as the N2, N7 and R71 improvements in KZN, Western Cape and Limpopo.
It will also continue with the N3 Development Corridor stakeholder consultations. A total of 14 projects with the overall budget allocation of R400 million for the 2015/16 financial year are planned.
An amount of R1.1 billion has been set aside for the upgrade of R573 Moloto Road.
“This is a great achievement for the people of Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo. The re-classification of this road to a national road under Sanral has commenced and it will form part of the non-toll road portfolio.”
Priority Rail Corridor Strategy
Minister Peters said in the Eastern Cape, the R1.6 billion Motherwell rail link feasibility study has been concluded, and procurement processes are underway. The Mthatha Station will also be upgraded to accommodate the provision of mainline services.
In the Western Cape, the Blue Downs Rail Extension feasibility report has also been concluded and is under review by relevant stakeholders.
In Gauteng, the Mamelodi-Greenview-Pienaarspoort rail extension is in progress. The new line accompanied by new signalling became operational in 2014 and the construction of the Greenview Station is ready for handover.
She announced that the construction of the Pienaarspoort and Mamelodi Stations is scheduled to start in the current financial year.
“In Mpumalanga, the 120km Moloto Rail Corridor Development is gaining traction with the feasibility study having been completed and engagements National Treasury ongoing,” the Minister said.
Shova Kalula Bicycle
Minister Peters said the Shova Kalula Bicycle project is also making great strides. “We have already distributed more than 90 000 bicycles countrywide.
“In the current MTEF, we plan to implement a multi-year programme which will ensure the distribution of 30 000 more bicycles across all provinces,” she said.
However, the biggest challenge this project is faced with now is the lack of access to bicycle repair services. - SAnews.gov.za
