How SANRAL contracts changed the fortunes of SMMEs working on the N2 rehabilitation project in the Eastern Cape

When Ntingi Legacy was awarded a R1.5-million sub-contract on a South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) project, director Abongile Jaka knew it was only the beginning.

When work packages for infrastructure rehabilitation and safety improvements on the N2 between Nqadu and Mbokotwana were announced, Ntingi Legacy was a Grade Two CIDB service provider. The company was subcontracted for the construction of edge beams in the upgrading of the major access roads joining the N2.

Jaka said that the SANRAL project came at the right time during Covid-19.

“The morale around the country was down, businesses were closing down due to the impact of Covid-19, but SANRAL, on the other hand, gave us something to uplift our spirits as contractors,” he said.

SANRAL awarded a four-year contract [2020-2023] valued at R816-million to H&I Construction for the rehabilitation and safety improvements along 18.6 kilometres of the N2 Section 19 between Nqadu and Mbokotwana.

This section falls within the Eastern Cape’s OR Tambo District Municipality in an area covered by two local municipalities – Nyandeni and Mhlontlo. Thirty percent of the contract value, amounting to R240-million, was set aside for local small, medium and micro enterprises, with 86 being awarded contracts during the project.

Jaka said they were offered training on how to do the work, after being awarded the contract. This, he said, not only capacitated him to do the work but also taught him how to manage his workforce, comprising of 12 people at some point.

Ntingi Legacy has since been upgraded to Grade Four CIDB service provider and comprises four permanent staff. Jaka said he was hopeful that they would receive more work when SANRAL awards work packages for the second phase of the project, which will take place along the N2 to Qumbu. His hope is to be rated as a Grade Six CIDB service provider.

“We also managed to purchase a tractor-loader backhoe (TLB), a tipper-truck and a flat deck,” he added.

Jaka said two of his temporary employees who worked for Ntingi during the project have now enrolled for certificates to drive TLB and roller machines.

Another SMME director who saw a change of fortune for his company and employees was Abongile Buhlungu. His entity, Vayagrand, was awarded a contract valued at R1.2-million for installation of a fence along the affected section of the N2. Buhlungu said the SANRAL contract has carried him financially in the last three years.

“It was the longest-running contract because we were doing the work in portions. Whenever we completed a portion, we took a break and waited to be called to do the next portion and that continued throughout the duration of the main contract,” Buhlungu explained.

He employed a maximum of eight employees and a minimum of five, as some of them quit once they got paid.

“We employed a number of people from the community but some of them stopped working once they got paid and others didn’t return when we finished a portion, and about to start the next portion,” said Buhlungu.

His company Vayagrand cc was a Grade One CIDB service provider when he started but was upgraded to a Grade Two CIDB service provider He is expecting to move up to Grade Three in the next grading cycle.

Buhlungu also acquired skills for fence installation in the training he received after he was awarded the tender. “When people see my work, they think it is something I learned from a technical institution,” he said.

One of their biggest challenges was theft of the fence as soon as they installed it, which posed a safety hazard for road users and livestock.

“There were times where we had to redo our work because the fence had been stolen just after it had been installed,” said Buhlungu. “We also had issues with communities demanding that we should leave gates in the path that they normally use whilst the design pointed elsewhere.”