Addressing the technical capacity constraints on community-based labour intensive road projects - a case study of the Amadiba road project

Abstract

Amadiba Road is a 44km-long gravel road, which runs from the R61 between Port Edward and Bizana, down to the sea. It was a community-based, labour-intensive project managed by CSIR Built Environment, with funding from the national Poverty Alleviation Fund, through the South African National Roads Agency Limited. The project began in January 2002 and was completed in September 2003. All the work was done by unskilled or semi-skilled community members, including the building of low-level bridges. Construction management was entrusted to selected local community members who with training have developed to the stage where they can become competent contractors. The project was overseen by a steering committee set up to include mainly members of the local community. The technical training was commissioned during various stages of the project and allowed the trainees to receive hands-on experience during the construction process. This was aimed at enhancing their ability to manage the maintenance of the road, and to undertake projects other than roads. Haulage of gravel was entrusted entirely onto local providers of tractor/trailers or trucks. The income enabled them to upgrade their equipment and to look for more work of similar nature. Three years on, this paper investigates the skills transfer and capacity building initiatives of the project and will report on the current state of the community.