“We have big dreams and big projects for the Eastern Cape. Work with us and not against us.”
This was the message from president Cyril Ramaphosa when he visited the Eastern Cape on Thursday.
Ramaphosa urged Eastern Cape communities to stop the violent protests and destruction of state assets, and instead support government projects, saying they were designed to help create jobs, fight poverty and build the economy of the province.
“We want to create jobs so that the people of theEastern Cape won’t have to go other cities to look for jobs.”
On Thursday, Ramaphosa visited the R1.65bn Msikaba bridge project in rural Lusikisiki to check on progress in its construction.
The bridge, together with the R1.7bn Mtentu bridge, will form part of the Greenfields N2 Wild Coast toll road, the last link in the revamped N2, connecting Durban to Buffalo City Metro.
Ramaphosa was joined by transport minister Fikile Mbabula, public works & infrastructure minister Patricia de Lille, water & sanitation minister Senzo Mchunu, and small business development minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams.
While work has completely ground to a halt in Mtentu due to unhappiness and violent protests by some communities in the area, the Msikaba project, which was affected at some stage, is progressing well.
Ramaphosa said even though the construction of Msikaba had hit a snag in the past leading to delays, he was happy with what he had seen on Thursday.
He praised both the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) and the contractors for dealing with issues in the project.
However, he said the only downside was that the costs of the project had escalated.
He said the government needed to manage cost escalation in the projects it undertook.
The president said the project to construct the two bridges was enormous. It would create about 8,000 permanent jobs, and between 21,000 to 28,000 indirect jobs during construction.
Dispatch previously reported that a cable car had been installed in Msikaba.
Ramaphosa said other activities like bungee jumping would also be introduced.
Despite not naming the projects, he said the state had several major infrastructure projects lined up for the Eastern Cape.
“We have big dreams and big projects for the Eastern Cape.
“Work with us and not against us. You don’t need to be violent to get a share.”
He said when there were stoppages in projects, it not only affected the contractor, but the government due to cost escalation. Violent protests and vandalism also drove foreign investors away, he said.
He warned that the government could lose out on some major infrastructure projects, should investors stay away.
DispatchLIVE has reported that Sanral awarded the contract for the construction of the Mtentu bridge to a joint venture, comprising Aveng Grinaker-LTA and a European construction firm Strabag (ASJV).
He said a total of R8bn had been invested in the Wild Coast toll road, including the two bridges.
The project would help create a trade corridor from Cape Town to Gqeberha, and from East London to Durban and up to Ermelo.
He said at least R4bn of the investment would target local SMMEs in the OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo districts.
He said 62% of the workforce, both skilled and unskilled was local while even building materials for the bridge were sourced locally.
He was especially proud that the companies building the bridge were black-owned.
As part of government’s economic reconstruction and recovery plan, Ramaphosa said they wanted to turn SA into a major construction site.
“It’s not too far fetched to say in years from now, entrepreneurs from Lusikisiki will be able to transport their products to Gaborone (Botswana), Lusaka (Zambia) Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and North Africa, thanks to these bridges and the toll road,” Ramaphosa said.
Premier Oscar Mabuyane said the project would help birth new smart cities in Port St Johns and in Coffee Bay along the Wild Coast.
Proposals had also been received to build a smart city in Qunu, the birth place of former president Nelson Mandela.
He said they wanted the roads to also connect to hospitals and tourism sites. He said the two bridges were in line with economic development plans of the province.
“We believe we have been neglected for some time. We are happy that we are now a construction site.”
The bridges would not only help create much needed jobs, but would open massive eco-tourism opportunities.
Mabuyane promised that provincial government would work closely with traditional leaders and communities to ensure that both bridges were completed.
He said this was because the Wild Coast toll road would be useless without them.
Mbalula said the Msikaba bridge would be the biggest in the continent and would connect the Eastern Cape, not only to KwaZulu-Natal, but to a host of Southern African countries.
He said R3.5bn had been invested into the project.
OR Tambo district municipality mayor Thokozile Sokanyile said the project would help entice wealthy investors to invest in the district.
DispatchLIVE
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