Skills development for unemployed workers – many of whom have never had a steady job in their lives – has been a major spin-off from rural sidewalk paving projects in Limpopo.
The two projects saw the construction of 8kms of sidewalks, flanking busy roads, in the rural areas of Motong, near Seshego, and Malamulele, 30kms from Giyani. The main contractor for both projects was Limpopo-based Mudzi & Moshonga Construction and the sidewalks were surfaced using Double Zig-Zag concrete paving blocks supplied by Technicrete.
Technicrete also provided expert input on block-laying methods which were passed on in the on-site training of over 70 previously unemployed local workers. Shawn Skosana, a director of Mudzi & Moshonga Construction, says these workers were employed in addition to the company’s permanent skilled paving teams and the paving skills training was funded through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).“The new footpaths have contributed to upgrading the environment and they provide safer sidewalks for the communities,” says Skosana. “More than that, when our job is finished, those workers who benefitted from the training have acquired skills which have value and which they can use to find further employment. Some of the people we recruited for the projects had never worked before.”
The training included surface compaction techniques as well as concrete block-laying.
Skozana says as many as 5 000 people a day use the pedestrian pathways running alongside these roads in Motong and Malamulele. “The old roadside pedestrian tracks were hazardous as pedestrians were actually sharing the roads with vehicular traffic and there had been a number of fatal accidents. These areas are growing rapidly and traffic on the roads is getting heavier. Residents are very happy that in future their journeys will be safer.”
In the Malamulele project Technicrete’s Double Zig-Zag paving blocks were laid over a total area of 6 400m² and the Motong project stretches over a similar area.
“We had terrific support from Technicrete, in terms of product quality, delivery, and valuable skills advice,” Skozana says.
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