February 9, 2006
By Tammy O'Reilly
THE City is proud of achieving its goal of tarring all the gravel roads in Soweto, a mammoth undertaking.
It has improved the lives of residents who use these roads each day, with no mud from the summer rains, no dust in winter, and improved safety from the addition of pavements and road signs. And fewer vehicles need repairs after being damaged by gravel and stones.
In 2003 the Johannesburg City council undertook to tar every gravel road in Soweto before the end of 2005. Not only would it give residents a better quality of life, but it would also be a step towards correcting one of the many injustices of the apartheid government.
Under that leadership, the authorities neglected the collection of townships. They considered it unnecessary to provide even the basic services that give people dignity of life, such as water, sanitation and electricity, and providing proper roads was considered even more absurd.
Today every one of the 27 townships that make up Soweto has tarred roads of the same or better quality as any other road in Johannesburg, complete with kerbing, stormwater drains and proper signage. The few tarred roads that existed were upgraded to the same standards.
To add to Sowetans' travelling options, the City has developed a major taxi rank near Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital and is busy developing a link from Klipspruit Valley Road to Nasrec to ensure easy access to the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup venues.
A total of 314 kilometres of road were tarred and 5 358 jobs were created, of which more than half were drawn from local communities. But that is not the only role the communities played in the project. Ward councillors consulted with them throughout the project, Executive Mayor Amos Masondo went on walkabouts and communities were engaged on how to maintain and take ownership of the new roads.
On 11 and 12 February, 18 families living on Vincent van Onselen Road, an extension of the Soweto Highway, are being relocated to houses further down the road to make way for upgrading and extending.
Masondo handed them the keys to their new houses at a ceremony in Meadowlands on Wednesday, 8 February. Each had a better quality home built for them to make way for the road. The City has also thrown in a one-year guarantee for the new owners, who can report any structural problems they have in that year.
"It is very gratifying to know that we are restoring the dignity of our people and the Soweto Road Map Project is one of our proudest service delivery achievements," Masondo said.
Many people in other parts of the city took the tarred roads in their areas for granted and for them it would be unimaginable to drive home on gravel or in mud if it rained, but for the people who lived here, "that has been a reality for decades".
The Soweto Road Map Project has won several awards, including the National Vuna Award for Innovation in 2004 and the City of Johannesburg Innovation Award in 2005.
The mayor also launched a book, Soweto: Roadmap to the Future, a comprehensive history, including illustrations, of Soweto and the details of the project.
It is available at the Johannesburg Road Agency offices, at 66 Sauer Street, in the city centre. For more information call Ntswaki Hlaba on 011 298 5159.
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