National Roads Update: The South African National Roads .... SANRAL_Layouts_2014.pdf · National Roads Update: The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited National Roads Update:

National Roads Update: The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited

National Roads Update: The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited National Roads Update: The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited

The SouTh AfricAn nATionAL Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) has grown well beyond its original role to develop and maintain a network linking the country’s ma-jor economic centres.

“Since our establishment in 1998, the national road network has ex-panded from 6 800 to 21 403 kilometres,” says SANRAL chief exec-utive Nazir Alli. “The nature of our business has also changed. Our original role to develop and maintain the network has expanded to include road safety for drivers and pedestrians, job creation, and small business, skills and community development.”

The network is not only vital for economic devel-opment, carrying, for ex-ample, some 70% of the country’s freight, but the mobility it provides sup-ports social cohesion, he says.

Development and main-tenance of 18 283kms of the 21 403km network is funded through an annual allocation, currently about R11 billion, from thefiscus.

The remaining 3 120kms are tolled, with SANRAL managing 1 832kms and three private concessions managing 1 288kms on behalf of the agency. SANRAL and the concession-aires raise money on capital markets, mainly from pension funds and banks, to support development and maintenance of toll roads, and service debt from toll fees. The toll and non-toll roads are oper-ated as separate portfolios, with no cross-subsidisation permitted.

As detailed in this publication, SANRAL’s range of responsibilities is reflected in its structure, which is based on eight pillars: Engineer-ing; Technology; Road Safety; Community Development; Govern-ance and Finance; Environment; Sustainability and Job Creation; and Employees.

Alli believes SANRAL has succeeded in developing well-engi-neered, safe roads in line with international standards. However, with limited funding for the national non-toll roads, SANRAL has

had to be innovative in order to further develop and maintain the network, which could expand to as much as 35 000kms, and to pro-vide smooth, safe passage for growing traffic volumes, particularly in the main urban centres.

“We are making increasing use of technology through our Intel-ligent Transport System to alert drivers to hazards, detect and re-spond quickly to incidents, get traffic flowing smoothly as soon as possible after accidents, and keep the public fully informed about road conditions,” says Alli. “By keeping traffic flowing smoothly, particularly in the major economic hubs, we are, for example, in-

creasing the capacity of our road network without having to add new lanes to accommodate the volumes.”

Maintenance is paramount, says Alli. SANRAL contracts over 800 well-trained small businesses and their teams to undertake routine maintenance along the entire network. “Our policy is that we will repair a pothole within 72 hours of detecting it, and this is just one of a range of maintenance activities carried out by these teams. We are not only delivering safely engineered roads; we are developing sustainable small businesses that create jobs and play a vital role in

Perspective

M o r e T h A n Ar o A d B u i L d e r

Centre of Science and Technology (Cosat) principal Phadelia Cooper and SANRAL CEO Nazir Alli, centre, celebrate with Grade 11 and 12 pupils (from left) Thembeka George, Babalwa Jezile, Athenkosi Cetyana and Sivenithi Juqu. Cosat, in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, is among a number of educational institutions and initiatives supported by SANRAL to improve the teaching of maths and science as disciplines essential for economic development.

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ensuring that our roads are well-maintained in the long term.”

However, providing safely engineered, well-maintained roads is only part of the challenge, says Alli. “South Africa has an appall-ingly high road accident and fatality record, so we need to influence road users to comply with the rules of the road. Our approach is to influence them from a young age by undertaking extensive road safety programmes in schools and universities. We have also com-missioned the University of Pretoria together with the universities of KwaZulu-Natal and North West to undertake research on how we can effectively change behaviour.”

As part of its community development role, SANRAL develops safe pedestrian walkways and crossing points for communities close to the national road network.

SANRAL also needs to ensure that it has the skills to undertake its growing range of responsibilities. “Not only SANRAL, but our country as a whole, urgently needs a growing pool of young people proficient in maths and science. We play our part by sponsoring the Centre for Science Education and Technology in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.

“We also fund other promising school pupils in grades 10, 11 and 12, and award high performers with bursaries to study civil engineering or the built environ-ment.

“In addition, SANRAL sponsors chairs in Pavement Engineering at Stellenbosch University, Transportation at the Univer-sity of Cape Town, and Mathematics at the University of the Free State.

“Of course, we would like qualified young people who have benefited from our sup-port to join SANRAL, and that is already happening, but even if they don’t, we have still made a valuable con-tribution to skills development for the country.”

SANRAL takes seriously its obligation to maintain strict financial discipline and comply with the law, says Alli. “The people of South Africa have placed their trust in us to use their tax contributions to develop and maintain safely engineered roads and support social and economic development.

“We have had clean audits since our establishment in 1998, and we maintain strict measures to ensure that our procurement practices are untainted by fraud and corruption.”

SANRAL’s performance in meeting its obligations to lenders from whom it has raised funding on capital markets to support develop-

ment of toll roads has enabled the agency to drive down the prices of its own, guaranteed bonds to almost the same level as govern-ment-guaranteed bonds.

This changed dramatically following delays in starting e-tolling on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), leading to a Moody’s two-notch downgrade in SANRAL’s credit rating and pre-cipitating its first failed bond auction.

Amid continued controversy over e-tolling and with motorists en-couraged to break the law by not paying toll fees on the GFIP, SAN-RAL has remained steadfast that the user-pays principle is fair and equitable.

“Government faces numerous funding demands, and roads are just one of them,” explains Alli. “There are limits on the amount of funding gov-ernment can allocate to SANRAL, so we have to raise additional funding to make improvements in areas with increasingly high traffic volumes leading to conges-tion and impacting adversely on eco-nomic growth.

“The user-pays principle was established in a White Paper as long ago as 1996 as a means of raising funding for critical infrastructure, such as that required in Gauteng. The Constitutional Court has affirmed that Cabinet has the preroga-tive to decide on the user-pays principle as a legitimate way of funding road in-frastructure. We have considered all the alternatives, and the user-pays principle remains the only viable, equitable way to fund critical road infrastructure. As we have done in Gauteng, we will only im-plement an electronic toll collection sys-tem at the existing plazas. This will save motorists time expediting their journey and reduce vehicle operation costs.

“Funding backlogs on all roads in South Africa now exceed R150 billion, and this is growing. The SANRAL national road network does not have significant maintenance backlogs, and it is in the in-terests of the whole country that we keep it this way. However, it has expansion backlogs.”

So, what is SANRAL doing to persuade a greater number of road users to accept e-tolling?

“As implementers of government policy, we will continue to engage with investors and the public,” says Alli. “We speak to many differ-ent groups and explain in a non-emotive atmosphere what we are doing and why we are doing so. We believe that in time growing numbers of South Africans will accept the user-pays principle.” <<

Perspective

WiTh iTS LiMiTed ShAre of taxpayers’ money, the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) needs to be “very innovative and smart” in managing the 21 403km of the

national network linking the country’s economic hubs.

“The critical factor for us is to avoid at all cost a build-up of backlogs in managing, expanding and maintaining the national road network,” says SANRAL Engineering Executive Koos Smit. “SANRAL receives about R11 billion a year to fund the improvement and maintenance of non-toll roads, so we have to be very innovative and smart to make the most productive use of taxpayers’ money.”

He points to estimates that between R150 billion and R200 billion would be needed to catch up with maintenance backlogs and bring all roads, including those in provincial and local government jurisdictions, to acceptable condition. SANRAL would need about R20 billion to reduce its own backlogs, he says.

The challenge has become considerable, with SANRAL frequently being required to incorporate strategic provincial roads into its network, the most recent transfer being 1 699km of provincial roads in Limpopo.

“There are huge demands on the taxpayers’ money, and SANRAL receives a limited amount. That is why we support the user-pays principle as a means to narrow the funding gaps,” explains Smit. “It makes sense to toll high-traffic ‘commercial’ roads in cases where it is affordable and where savings in time and vehicle operating costs are more than the cost of improvement. This allows SANRAL to provide a better quality of service to road users in these areas.

“Toll money collected is ring-fenced. This means that toll monies go directly towards the upkeep, maintenance and improvement of the road on which the toll was collected. There is no cross-subsidisation between the toll and non-toll portfolios.”

Non-toll roads are funded by National Treasury through a three-year rolling programme, with SANRAL investing in its most recent

financial year R4.8 billion to maintain non-toll roads and R6.2 billion to strengthen, improve and provide new facilities on them. SANRAL raises funding on the capital market to manage and maintain its toll roads, and services the debt from road user fees. Annual repayment of debt is approximately R3.5 billion.

SANRAL has a total staff of 283. The Engineering team manages and maintains the 21 403kms of national roads, of which only 3 120kms are tolled. Of this, SANRAL manages 1 832km. The remaining 1 288kms of toll roads are managed, developed and maintained by three private concessions on behalf of SANRAL. Road construction and maintenance are outsourced to contractors, with about 500 small-, medium- and large-scale projects being undertaken at any given time.

Like other divisions in SANRAL, Engineering operates a flat management structure based on single-line responsibility in which each project manager takes a project or projects from conceptualisation to implementation.

r o A d M A n A G e M e n T SANRAL maintains 578 long-term and 1 023 short-term traffic monitoring stations to measure and collect traffic and vehicle data for use in the management, planning and design of roads.

S M o o T h pA S S A G e

“The people of South Africa have

placed their trust in us to use their

tax contributions to develop and

maintain safely engineered roads

and support social and economic

development. We have had clean

audits since our establishment

in 1998, and we maintain strict

measures to ensure that our

procurement practices are untainted

by fraud and corruption.”

The R352 million improvement to the Umgeni Road Interchange is approaching completion as part of the upgrade programme of the Durban Outer Ring Road.

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d r i V i n G c o n d i T i o n SSANRAL uses a number of measurements to assess driving conditions on roads. These include:

• Smooth Travel Exposure, which measures the roughness of roads; • Low Rut Exposure, which measures surface depressions that can hold water and cause a vehicle to aquaplane; and

• High Texture Exposure to measure the surface macro- texture, which affects surface friction at high speeds under wet conditions.

B r i d G e M A n A G e M e n T The 8 597 bridges and major culverts on national routes are assessed by SANRAL-accredited inspectors every five to six years, and the number grows as the road network expands. SANRAL uses an Overall Condition Index to measure risks associated with bridges in need of repair, and schedules work on them accordingly.

r o A d T r A n S p o r TSANRAL supports the Road Transport Management System, an industry-led accreditation system that works to improve wellness of drivers and ensure that freight vehicles are not overloaded and are roadworthy.

SANRAL outsources and funds the operation of 13 traffic control centres on a 24-hour basis. Attached to these are 16 satellite weigh stations that are operated as detected and recorded overloading incidents increase. Control centres weighed 1 616 825 heavy vehicles in 2013, issued 26 029 fines for vehicles found to be unroadworthy, and arrested 524 drivers.<<

Detailed road data is also obtained from surveys performed by SANRAL’s automated road survey vehicles, which are equipped with laser, video and computer-based technologies.

M A i n T e n A n c ePreventative maintenance is a key element of SANRAL’s management. South African roads differ markedly from those in Europe, explains Smit. South Africa has an abundance of good

quality rock and gravel material. Gravel and crushed rock layers of 150mm are built to strict specifications to a pavement thickness of between 450 and 750mm. This is then overlaid by a thin layer of asphalt or surface seal of between 15 and 50mm. European roads use a 100mm to 300mm thick asphalt layer, which raises construction costs by as much as 40%.

However, South African road pavements are sensitive to ingress from water due to the thin surface layer, necessitating re-sealing or overlaying at least every eight years. “A well-maintained road resealed timeously should last 20 years and more,” says Smit. “Failure to reseal timeously will lead to rapid deterioration and an exponential increase in cost to repair.”

Routine road maintenance is undertaken by contractors along the entire national network. This covers crack-sealing and patching, repair and cleaning of drainage systems, repair and renewal of fences, road signs, road studs and guardrails, burning of firebreaks, protection of the environment through maintenance of trees and shrubs, weed and litter control and emergency assistance. A minimum of 60% of this work is allocated to SMMEs in line with SANRAL’s socio-economic development goals, of which 90% is awarded to black-owned firms.

SAnrAL MAkeS increASinG use of technology to keep traffic flowing as smoothly as possible on freeways in South Africa’s major economic hubs.

The agency has over the past 10 years developed an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) to enable detection of incidents and responses to them, and to keep road users as well informed as possible about driving conditions and hazards. The ITS forms the backbone of freeway management systems in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Cape Town.

The ITS is continually being improved to enable SANRAL to increasingly reduce the time taken to detect incidents, respond to them and get traffic moving smoothly again, and to communicate effectively with the public, explains Alex van Niekerk, Manager for Tolling and Traffic in SANRAL’s Northern Region.

The ITS was initiated in 2004 on a section of South Africa’s busiest freeway, linking Johannesburg and Pretoria, and then extended to cover 220 kilometres of freeways in Gauteng, before being rolled out in the lead up to the 2010 football World Cup on 120km of the busiest sections of the N2 and N3 in Kwa-Zulu-Natal, and 155km of freeways around Cape Town.

Traffic control centres managed a monthly average of over 2 000 traffic-related incidents in the three regions during SANRAL’s past financial year. SANRAL works closely with provincial and metro traffic authorities, which provide emergency services on the freeway systems.

The ITS provides real-time freeway traffic flow conditions,

including details of any incidents, to local radio stations, which inform road users. The system also provides SANRAL with accurate and comprehensive incident data to enable the agency to identify accident trends and high risk locations. “We use the incident and traffic information we gather to continually identify actions to reduce incidents as well as the duration of the incident, whether through better engineering, or education or enforcement,” says Van Niekerk.

A recent innovation has been to use “heat maps” provided by vehicle tracking companies to enable SANRAL to identify build-up in congestion or incidents that need managing. These maps utilise GPS information from vehicles on the network that reflect the travelling speed through a series of colours on a map. If the colour turns, for instance, from green to orange or red, it can be detected in the SANRAL traffic management centre.

Van Niekerk adds that elements of the ITS will be rolled out where necessary on national roads outside the three freeway systems. An example is the installation of Variable Messaging Signs on parts of the N3 between Johannesburg and Durban.

G A u T e n G f r e e WAY M A n A G e M e n T S Y S T e M ( f M S )

A major innovation on the Gauteng FMS is implementation

Engineering Technology

A L L i nr e A L – T i M e

(Top, left and right) A SANRAL Heavy Vehicle Simulator and a road research programme.(Left) Part of the Umgeni Interchange. (Left, centre) Bridge building in Pietermaritzburg. (Right) A Routine Road Maintenance crew.

(Top) A Freeway Management System control room(Left) The SANRAL i-Traffic website is a national traveller service providing information on regional traffic conditions, road works, congestion and traffic alerts for Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.

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of round-the-clock SANRAL On-Road services on the 220km Gauteng freeway network as a further means to improve safety and reduce the impact of incidents on the flow of traffic.

The On-Road service fleet comprises 10 light motor vehicle towing vehicles, eight heavy vehicle towing vehicles, 10 incident response vehicles for scene safety and control, and an additional six medical response vehicles equipped with intermediate life support equipment and six “medics on bikes”.

Road users can call the i-TRAFFIC call centre on 0800-itraffic (387 2332) to report crashes, stranded vehicles, or any other incidents on the Gauteng freeway.

Units based at strategic points along the freeway are then dispatched from the SANRAL Traffic Management Centre (TMC). Units have responded to 12 558 incidents since introduction of the service.

Medical units’ key function is to provide “golden hour” first-line medical assistance before provincial or metro emergency services arrive at the scene. On-Road service response times have averaged between eight and 12 minutes. Real-time traffic information was disseminated to motorists through 9 000 Variable Message Sign (VMS) notifications and 13 000 tweets during SANRAL’s past financial year. Approximately 200 000 users accessed the national i-TRAFFIC website (www.i-traffic.co.za).

k WA Z u L u - n ATA L f r e e WAY M A n A G e M e n T S Y S T e M

The 120km KwaZulu-Natal FMS is equipped with 137 cameras, 26 VMSs and 57 radar vehicle detection units, all linked to a TMC via a high-speed fibre-optic communications backbone.

The TMC dealt with an average of 700 traffic-related incidents a month. Average incident detection time is down to 76 seconds.

An example of the use of data to support SANRAL in making improvements is the identification of a high accident zone due to vehicles aquaplaning near the Shongweni interchange. The problem was rectified by remedial work on the pavement to aid drainage.

c A p e T o W n f r e e WAY M A n A G e M e n T S Y S T e M

The Cape Town FMS includes 236 closed-circuit television cameras and 51 VMSs, and 84 Vehicle Detector Stations (VDS) and 10 Environmental Sensor Stations (ESS) are being

commissioned. VDS systems already in use on FMS networks record traffic conditions such as speed, flow, vehicle density and vehicle composition in real time. ESSs measure weather information such as temperature, visibility, humidity, rainfall and wind speed.

Real-time traffic information on the Cape Town FMS is disseminated to motorists by more than 2 600 VMS notifications

per month and approximately 1 600 tweets per month to more than 22 000 twitter followers.

T r AV e L L e r i n f o r M AT i o n SANRAL has upgraded its i-TRAFFIC website (www.itraffic.co.za) which now includes a My i-TRAFFIC feature enabling users to customise their route and receive location or route information. In addition to i-TRAFFIC, which provides information on Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, the number of Twitter followers has increased to 58 000.<<

Technology Road Safety

The un hAS decLAred the period 2011-2020 as the Decade of Action For Road Safety, urging member states to

halve the number of fatalities caused by road crashes. SANRAL takes the call seriously, but the challenge facing South African transport authorities is among the world’s most daunting.

“Despite all the road safety cam-paigns, South Africa is consistently ranked among the five countries with the highest road fatality rates, consist-ently exceeding 30 deaths per 100 000 people,” says Randall Cable, SANRAL Road Safety Cluster Coordinator and Engineering Manager for Operations in the Western Region.

“Between 14 000 and 18 000 people die each year on South Africa’s roads. That’s approximately 40 people a day. On top of this, many thousands are seriously injured. The situation is un-acceptable, and definitely one which is unsustainable.

“Besides the immense financial and emotional toll on so many families, the cost to the economy is estimated at more than R300 billion a year, which is a cost that a developing economy such as South Africa can ill afford.”

SANRAL has for some time taken the view that its job is not simply to build and maintain roads. “We are world leaders in building and maintaining our national road asset, which we do very well and efficiently. However, we are very much user-orientated, and concerned for the safety and wellbeing all our road users – motorists as well as pedestrians – and we are involved in influencing the behaviour of users with the most widely diverse backgrounds. There’s no magic formula. This is a long-term process.”

The UN Decade of Action for Road Safety has helped to sharpen focus.

“It stresses that those involved in the design of the road transport system need to accept and share responsibil-ity for the safety of the system, and those who use the system need to ac-cept responsibility for complying with the rules and constraints of the system,” explains Cable.

The emphasis is on a Safe Systems Ap-proach based on the experience of countries where the numbers of people

dying on roads have been significantly reduced over time.

“The basic philosophy is that no one needs to die or be seriously injured in road crashes, as these are preventable. Also that those

T h e L o n G r o A dT o S A f e T Y

(Above left) A Variable Message Sign provides real-time road condition information. (Right) SANRAL monitors traffic through extensive CCTV systems.(Right, below) Freeway incident response vehicles at the ready.

(Above, below) SANRAL’s extensive Chekicoast programme spreads the road safety message to school pupils, university students and truck drivers.

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ABouT 40% of The people killed on South Africa’s roads are pedestrians, adding to the tragic human dimension in statistics ranking the country’s road accident fatality rate among the five highest in the world.

Recognising that it is not only responsible for developing and maintaining the national road network but must also work to make it as safe as possible, SANRAL undertakes extensive road safety programmes and projects covering drivers and pedestrians.

SANRAL’s pedestrian safety initiatives are focused on communities living in the vicinity of the national road network. Through a Pedestrian Hazardous Location Programme, SANRAL identifies high-risk areas and implements projects ranging from building safe access points to and from national roads, pedestrian bridges, walkways and taxi lay-bys to road safety education and awareness programmes in schools.

Numerous projects benefiting pedestrians have been undertaken throughout the country over the years. Among recent projects is construction of a pedestrian bridge and walkways over and adjacent to the N11 in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal.

Pedestrians regularly walked along the N11 from the Ladysmith CBD while pupils crossed over the N11 to get to school and home. Exclusive pedestrian walkways were constructed to prevent pedestrians from walking along the N11 shoulder, while the bridge enables pedestrians to safely cross the road. Safety fences on both sides of the road assist with channelling pedestrians towards the bridge. Another recent community project involved construction of pedestrian and public transport facilities in two municipalities in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The area adjacent to the R22 has become increasingly urbanised, resulting in large numbers of pedestrians walking on the shoulders of the national road. Non-motorised traffic has also increased due to development of a number of schools in close vicinity of the national road.

The project involves construction of a variety of road safety infrastructure, including sidewalks, bus and taxi facilities and safe crossing points. In an area with high unemployment, the project also created work opportunities for local people.

In addition to providing pedestrian facilities and safe access points for communities living next to the national road network, SANRAL’s community development initiatives focus on:

• Creating jobs and access to skills training;• Developing small and medium enterprises;• Promoting community participation; and• Making interventions in the area of education.

p r o G r A M M e S S u p p o r T e d B Y S A n r A L i n c L u d e

W i T S TA r G e T i n G TA L e n T p r o G r A M M e ( T T p )

The TTP aims to increase the academic, social and psychological preparation of academically talented learners from disadvantaged and better resourced backgrounds to access higher education opportunities. The programme recruits top performing learners in maths and science to be part of the programme annually. Once selected, learners become involved in the programme over a two- or three-year period from grade 10/11 through to grade 12.

A total of 719 high school learners, funded by SANRAL among others, attended a two-week Residential Academic Enrichment Camp (RAEC) at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2013. Forty-two grade 10 learners funded by SANRAL joined the programme in June 2013.

u f S S c h o o L o f o p e n L e A r n i n G ( S o L )

The Integrated Computer Technology (ICT) Laboratory of the School of Open Learning (SOL) at the University of the Free State’s Main and Qwaqwa campuses aims to enable and encourage more learners and students to enter science-related studies and careers. To accomplish this, learners and students with the necessary potential are exposed to carefully planned ICT Laboratory sessions.

In 2013 a total of 351 grades 10, 11 and 12 learners from 21 different schools attended the sessions at the ICT Laboratory. In addition to conducting experiments and other hands-on activities, learners had a career guidance session where an official link was established between them and the university’s Unit for Prospective Students. u f S fA M i LY M AT h A n d fA M i LY S c i e n c e

p r o J e c TThe School of Open Learning (SOL) at the University of the Free State aims to demystify math and science for learners in the early school years by raising their levels of understanding and changing their attitudes to these subjects. This is done by exposing learners to Family Math and Family Science activities on a regular basis in the classroom and integrating the activities into the curriculum.

who design roads are just as responsible as those who use them,” says Cable.

The Safe Systems Approach aims to ensure that in the event of a crash, the impact energies remain below the threshold likely to pro-duce either death or serious injury. However, achieving this through road infrastructure enhancements alone is not as simple as it seems, says Cable who uses the example of two horrific bus crashes on the N1 in the Hex River Pass in the Western Cape, to illustrate the point.

In 1999, after a spate of crashes on a 5 km portion of the N1 that rapidly descends down the Hex River Pass towards Cape Town, ad-ditional infrastructure was introduced to improve road safety.

At the top of the pass a compulsory truck stop was introduced. All heavy vehicles are required to stop and engage lowest gear and then “crawl” down the mountain pass. At the same time, an arres-tor bed, a safety net for runaway trucks, and a concrete barrier wall preventing vehicles from ending up on the opposite carriageway at a sharp hairpin bend, were also introduced. However, despite all the infrastructure safety measures, in 2010, an out-of-control bus hit the concrete barrier wall with such force that it was dragged over the entire length of the bar-rier and crashed onto the adjacent car-riageway for upcoming traffic, killing 24 occupants of the bus.

After the 2010 accident, SANRAL ex-tended the barrier wall even further. Yet, in 2013, another out-of-control bus used the arrestor bed but was travelling so fast that it went right through it. Even though the arrestor bed slowed down its speed sufficiently to enable the driver to negoti-ate the hairpin bend, the driver eventu-ally lost control further down the pass and another 23 people perished.

Statistics revealed that in the six-month period before the 2013 crash, 48 heavy vehicles used the arrestor bed after drivers lost control, mainly be-cause of faulty brakes, highlighting the condition of heavy vehicles on the roads.

SANRAL is now investigating the use of technology to record the number plates of heavy vehicles that do not stop at the compulso-ry truck stop, as well as speed law enforcement through the pass, but Cable is left wondering: “Is it truly possible to provide safely engineered roads that are forgiving enough to prevent serious in-jury or death when we make mistakes, and even instances of non-compliance? Probably not, but it is a vision that SANRAL strives to achieve.”

SANRAL’s response is to develop an integrated approach combin-ing Safe Systems engineering and technology, effective law enforce-

ment, education and awareness programmes, and measures to in-fluence changes in road user behaviour and attitudes.

A key initiative is the commissioning by SANRAL of the University of Pretoria to research effective ways in which to change road user behaviour. SANRAL also undertakes extensive road safety educa-tion programmes in schools and higher education institutions. In addition, the agency has taken major steps to improve pedestrian safety (see Community Development).

“The good news for South Africa is that many other countries have addressed the challenges that we are facing, so there is good data and experience from which to draw,” says Cable. “They were where we are now. The less good news is that some of the problems here are embedded in deeper social and historical issues, and we need more information on those for our roads safety systems to be com-petent enough to make the changes that are necessary.”

r o A d S A f e T Y e d u c AT i o nSANRAL has focused on the youth in its efforts to influence the

behaviour of road users. The Chekicoast programme was launched two years ago to spread the message to school pupils and university students.

The name derives from township slang used during the apartheid era to check whether the coast was clear of police. Now Chekicoast is being used to encour-age young people to be vigilant about road safety.

Chekicoast is being implemented on two levels in educational institutions:

• Teachers in schools within a five kilometre radius of the national road network are trained to give road safety and awareness classes to pupils from Grade R to Grade 12.

Training is undertaken by University of Pretoria academics through scientifically designed courses. During SANRAL’s most recent financial year, 3 105 teachers received road safety material, of whom 760 attended workshops, and 200 286 pupils were reached.• University students are reached through campus newspapers and radio stations which disseminate information on road safety, and interactive sessions are held with them.

In addition, Chekicoast is being used to reach truck drivers who use the national road network. Drivers are educated about road safety.

Chekicoast also has a Facebook page with 16 000 followers, enabling SANRAL to interact with the public on a range of road safety issues.<<

Road Safety Community Development

WA L k i n GW i T h o u T f e A r

“is it truly possible to provide

safely engineered roads

that are forgiving enough to

prevent serious injury or death

when we make mistakes,

and even instances of non-

compliance? probably not,

but it is a vision that SAnrAL

strives to achieve.”

8 9


A total of 7 624 learners, 155 educators, 474 student educators and 1 171 parents from predominately rural communities in the Free State, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape were involved during 2013.

To achieve this, SOL, among others, trained 16 subject advisors to act as coordinators in their respective regions with the responsibility of training and supporting local educators.

T h e S A n r A L c h A i r i n S c i e n c e , M AT h e M AT i c S A n d

T e c h n o L o G Y e d u c AT i o nThis is a new initiative in collaboration with the University of the Free State to improve the quality of teaching in these vital subjects at schools in the province.

High school learners who benefit from this initiative will become part of a talent pool from which the next generation of engineers, teachers, artisans and technicians will be drawn.

The SANRAL Chair forms part of the University’s School Change Project (SCP), a flagship initiative launched by the Vice-chancellor, Professor Jonathan Jansen.

The SANRAL endowment will enable the university to hone in on the “gateway subjects” of mathematics and natural science. At school level it will help to initially train 44 teachers – one for maths and one for science – at each of 22 participating schools.

The participating schools will have to demonstrate progress in education results and, depending on their achievements, more interns will be allocated through funding and bursaries.

Each of the schools should become “a centre of excellence” in the subjects with the ability to retain their best learners. The intention is to gradually extend the project to other schools in the Free State.

At an academic level the SANRAL-funded Chair will enrol five Doctoral and 10 Master’s students in science and mathematics education over a three-year cycle and also be responsible for research and publications in scholarly books and academic journals.

n M M u ’ S S c i e n c e T e c h n o L o G Y e n G i n e e r i n G A n d M AT h e M AT i c S

p i p e L i n e p r o J e c T ( S T e M p p )The primary objective of STEM PP is to facilitate an increase in the number of grade 12 learners achieving grades in physical science enabling them to enter tertiary studies in engineering and science. The strategy is to expose as many as possible grade 10 – 12 physical science learners to ICT- centered and curriculum-based physical science experiments at the Missionvale campus of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU).

During 2013 890 grade 10-12 learners participated in STEM PP activities. A total of 190 educators from across the Eastern Cape were trained in basic experiment procedures by making use of the STEM PP ICT facilities.

c o M M u n i T Y d e V e L o p M e n T p r o J e c T S Projects include the upgrading of access roads linked with the N2 at Umuziwabantu from a gravel to a blacktop surface, the upgrading of existing gravel service roads to surfaced roads and the construction of walkways adjacent to the R61 at two different stretches of the road in the OR Tambo District Municipality. <<

Community Development Governance & Finance

SAnrAL hAS BuiLT A considerable reputation for good governance and strict financial management. “It is abso-lutely vital that we maintain credibility as a custodian of tax-payers’ and other investors’ money and sustain their con-

fidence,” says Company Secretary and Risk Officer Alice Mathew. “The tone for good governance starts with the way the Board con-ducts itself and directs the organisation, and runs right through the fabric of SANRAL.” The key elements of governance include risk management and prevention of fraud and corruption.

r i S k M A n A G e M e n TSANRAL views risk as any uncertainty which may affect the achievement of its eight strategic objectives. These are to:

setting out Key Performance Areas, to which Individual Perfor-mance Plans are aligned. The results of the annual organisational performance are published in SANRAL’s annual report.

“Risk management is a way of life in SANRAL,” explains Mathew. “The philosophy is that every single employee is a risk manager at whatever level they serve.” In terms of the Public Finance Manage-ment Act, the SANRAL Board is ultimately accountable for risk management.

Risk is managed on an operational basis by a Risk Cluster consti-tuted by top management and key function heads. Each SANRAL division and region has a risk coordinator who maintains a risk reg-ister detailing all risks within the entity. In addition to short-term insurance, SANRAL maintains an investment account to cover any major and unexpected damage on completed civil works on nation-al road related infrastructure.

A n T i - f r A u d A n d c o r r u p T i o nSANRAL invests taxpayers’ money to develop and maintain its non-toll national road network. It raises funding from institutional investors such as pension schemes and banks to support develop-ment of its tolled roads, and services its debt from toll fees paid by road users.

“We maintain very strict tender rules and procurement practices and do everything possible to avoid fraud and corruption,” says Mathew.

Sanral operates a Fraud hotline – 0800 204 558 – that is indepen-

W o r k i n G o n T h e riGhT Side of The LAW

The SANRAL head office in Pretoria, a Green Building Council South Africa 4 Green Star rated building.

Governance & Finance

• Manage the national road network effectively;• Provide safe roads;• Carry out government’s transformation programmes;• Develop cooperative working relationships with relevant national departments, provinces, local authorities and Southern African Development Community member countries;• Achieve and maintain good governance practice;• Achieve financial sustainability;• Pursue research, innovation and best practice; and• Safeguard SANRAL’s reputation and maintain stakeholder communication.

The objectives are underpinned by an Annual Performance Plan

dently monitored by a firm of accountants which sends reports on alleged fraud and corruption to five senior officials in SANRAL to ensure that a number of people are aware of these. External investi-gators are appointed to assess serious allegations.

The hotline received 73 calls in a recent month, with five of these be-ing regarded as valid and relevant while the rest were either prank calls or unrelated to SANRAL, says Mathew.

“In the past four years, not a single fraud or corruption report in-volving SANRAL employees has proven to have substance. Before that, there has been the occasional incident such as one case in which an employee sent confidential tender information to a po-tential bidder. This was picked up a day after the e-mail was sent.”

Each new employee and Board member receives an induction to SANRAL to ensure that they are aware of its codes of business prac-

tice, and all employees and Board members are required to sign a code of conduct and a declaration of interests, which is reviewed from time to time. “SANRAL’s code of conduct underlines inter-personal trust and integrity but if that trust is broken, the policy is one of zero-tolerance,” says Mathew.

The Chief Executive Officer and the Risk Officer visit all SANRAL offices every year to discuss organisation-wide practice of govern-ance, risk and compliance.

Exposure to risk and incidences of fraud and corruption affecting SANRAL are presented and debated. This serves as a good op-portunity for every employee to raise concerns and also as a re-minder of SANRAL’s commitment to good governance and service excellence.

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r e S e A r c hMuch of SANRAL’s research is aimed at reducing its carbon footprint. Initiatives include:

• Replacing tar with asphalt, which is bitumen-based and more environmentally friendly. • Recycling of road construction materials. Aggregate, bitumen and asphalt dug up from old roads is reworked and used when

they are upgraded, reducing the need to transport new materials and for quarrying, which can often adversely affect the environment.• Using solar panels and micro wind turbines to power variable messaging signs alerting road users to problems ahead.

Research extends beyond roads to adjacent reserve areas where SANRAL needs to establish the most sustainable way to conserve sensitive or threatened vegetation species. An example is collaboration between SANRAL and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan

The LAW requireS SAnrAL to comply with a range of measures to protect the environment and conserve natural resources, but the agency regards these as a minimum requirement.

SANRAL has a two-pronged approach, explains Environmental Manager Mpati Makoa. “We need to comply with the law, but we have our own, internally-driven programmes based on our core values, one of which is to take care about what we do. We also borrow from international standards such as ISO 14001 which is based on the Plan-Check-Do-Review-Improve cycle, and calls for ‘continual improvement’ as a fundamental principle.”

As a member of the World Road Association, SANRAL also benefits from participation in international environmental debate and keeps pace with latest developments.

f i n A n c i A L M A n A G e M e n TLegislation dictates that SANRAL must operate as two separate businesses: one for its non-toll road network; the other for tolled roads.

The two components are funded in fundamentally different ways. Sanral annually receives about R11 billion from the taxpayer to develop and maintain its 18 283 kilometre non-toll national road network. This is a government grant and SANRAL cannot budget for a deficit. The 3 120km tolled network is funded through long-term bonds raised on the capital mar-ket, with debt being serviced from toll fees.

“The fundamental principle with which we have to comply, is that the one business cannot fund the other,” explains Chief Fi-nancial Officer Inge Mulder. “Cross-subsi-disation is not permitted and we maintain a trial balance for each business.”

The toll business has no restriction on budgeting for deficits while SANRAL pays off capital raised for construction and maintenance. “The fundamental principle here is that all toll roads must fund them-selves over their 30-year lifespans. We check every six months to ensure that this is on track.”

SANRAL issues guaranteed and non-guar-anteed bonds to raise money from insti-

tutional investors, principally pension funds and banks, on capital markets. Guaranteed bonds are backed by National Treasury which effectively guarantees that government will make good if SANRAL defaults. This enables SANRAL to lower its cost of borrowings. The guarantee currently stands at R31.94 billion, but SANRAL has con-sistently met all its obligations to bond holders, says Mulder.

Non-guaranteed bonds are issued off the SANRAL balance sheet, and prospective buyers of these bonds rely on SANRAL’s Moody’s credit rating to assess risk.

SANRAL’s performance in meeting its obligations has enabled it to drive down the prices of its non-guaranteed bonds to almost the same level as its guaranteed bonds. “We had proved to be so reliable that our credit rating was essentially the same as government’s,” says Mulder.

This changed dramatically following de-lays in starting e-tolling on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project.

This led to a Moody’s three-notch down-grade, precipitating SANRAL’s first failed bond auction.

Implementation of e-tolling, resulting in revenue collection albeit on a limited lev-el, has encouraged investors but SANRAL has issued only guaranteed bonds. <<

Governance & Finance The Environment

TA k i n G c A r e

“SAnrAL’s performance in

meeting its obligations has

enabled it to drive down the

prices of its non-guaranteed

bonds to almost the same

level as its guaranteed

bonds. We had proved to

be so reliable that our credit

rating was essentially the

same as government’s.“Situated on the R27 linking South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, this three-arch bridge over the Orange River near Keimoes in the Northern Cape was built in the 1930s and has considerable heritage value. In carrying out widening and safety improvements, SANRAL took care to retain as much of the original design as possible.The Environment

In line with the “continual improvement” imperative, SANRAL undertakes its own research in collaboration with academic and other institutions, consults with authorities to improve regulatory processes and participates in local and international forums and events. This enables SANRAL to comfortably comply with legislative requirements, and to contribute to wider environmental and natural resource conservation issues, says Makoa.

SANRAL and other key industry stakeholders are currently investigating and looking to adapt ‘Greenroads’, a rating tool developed by the University of Washington, for use as an indicator for sustainable practices in South Africa’s road systems. SANRAL’s environmental management practices are monitored by its Risk Cluster which reports to the Board. (See Governance and Finance.)

University on research to establish guidelines for conservation of the Fynbos Biome along the N2 road in the Eastern Cape.

r e G u L AT o r Y c o M p L i A n c eSANRAL’s construction work is subject to government approval based on environmental impact assessment studies and the granting of permits to undertake specific activities. A number of approvals and permits are often required from different departments ranging

from Environmental Affairs to Water and Forestry, Agriculture and Mineral Resources, and from agencies, such as the SA Heritage Resources Agency.

SANRAL needs to start specific projects at specific times, and the permitting process is a critical factor in its timing. The agency is therefore working with government departments to develop a more integrated approach to permitting and to optimise the process, says Makoa.

S k i L L S d e V e L o p M e n TWith its eye on the future, SANRAL has partnered with the Department of Environmental Affairs to place two interns in the agency’s environment division under the Groen Sebenza Jobs Fund Partnership Project. A former trainee who was sponsored by SANRAL to take her honours degree is now working in the agency’s environment division.<<

(Above) Improvements to the N2 in the Tsitsikamma National Park area necessitated the relocation of a number of sensitive or endangered tree and plant species. SANRAL established a nursery to nurture species that needed to be moved and later replanted elsewhere in the area. (Right) SANRAL built fish ladders to meet concerns that upgrading of the R71 would disrupt the migratory patterns of fish for spawning purposes.

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SAnrAL hAS GroWn exponenTiALLY since its establishment in 1998. In the past 10 years alone, the national road network has grown from 10 000 kilometres to over 21 000, and the number of employees from 120 to 278.

“We have to make sure that our people are not only properly skilled and motivated to do their work but that we develop a pipeline of skills to ensure long-term sustainability,” says SANRAL Corporate Services Executive Heidi Harper.

The agency needs specialists in fields ranging from engineering to the environment and, more recently, in electronics as it increases the use of technology to detect and respond to incidents, and to keep road users aware of conditions on the national network.

In order to meet its growing need for skills, SANRAL launched in 2007 an ambitious bursary scheme which today supports 106 engineering students, among whom are 20 graduates now employed by SANRAL.

These candidate engineers are undertaking programmes to enable them to register as professional engineers with the Engineering Council of South Africa and they will be developed to eventually manage a portfolio of projects. However, a major challenge, particularly in the engineering field, is the inadequate number of school pupils sufficiently grounded in mathematics and science to enable them to make the grade in university.

SANRAL therefore sponsors the Centre for Science Education and Technology in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. This is a public school which focuses on maths and science and which now ranks among the Western Cape’s top 10 schools with the highest matriculation pass rate. In addition, SANRAL provides scholarships to promising school pupils in grades 10, 11 and 12.

SANRAL also offers pupils after-school exposure to maths and science by funding the STEM programme at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and Targeting Talent at the University of the Witwatersrand.

In order to further bolster sustainability, SANRAL sponsors major institutions at leading universities:

• The Chair in Pavement Engineering at Stellenbosch University. SANRAL stepped into the breach about 15 years ago after this institution lost its funding from industry, raising the risk that South Africa could lose its core competency in road engineering.

The programme has gathered great momentum, but the need for more holistic wellness support on RRM sites has been identified. Wellness Champions, with the help of CareWorks, are now creating awareness of symptoms of communicable and non-communicable diseases and behaviour changes to minimise illnesses. The project will be rolled out in all SANRAL regions in 2015.

To date, 86% of all workers have been tested for HIV/Aids, with 7.2% testing positive for HIV. Workers affected by HIV/Aids, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis have been referred to state clinics for treatment. However, SANRAL has also been involved in community-based construction projects that create skills and jobs.

Pioneering work in this field has been done in the Eastern Cape, starting with a pilot project deemed to have been so successful that it is now being replicated elsewhere in the province.

Launched in 2006, the pilot project was undertaken along the R61

national road linking Mthatha and Lusikisiki and traversing rural areas with numerous settlements and villages.

The challenge confronting SANRAL was that local motorists and pedestrians randomly accessed the R61 at unsafe points, explains Marlize Nel-Verwey, a Project Engineer in SANRAL’s Southern Region. SANRAL needed to close these points, and in order to create safe access to and from the R61, the agency developed 11 work packages, five of which were reserved for people in local communities.

Work varied from upgrading existing gravel roads to constructing new roads and associated infrastructure such as drainage, culverts and pedestrian facilities.

Sustainability, Employees and Job Creation

T h i n k i n G f o r T h eL o n G T e r M


• The Chair of Transportation at the University of Cape Town (UCT) which researches and develops public transport policy. SANRAL also supported the International Maths Olympiad held at UCT this year.• The Chair of Mathematics at the University of the Free State.

e M p L o Y e e SSANRAL has avoided the development of silos found in many hierarchical public institutions and operates a matrix flat structure. It also applies job enrichment and enlargement principles. “This ensures that people enjoy their work and are valued,” explains Harper. “It helps to keep specialised people enthusiastic about what they do by allowing them to work across boundaries. If people want to involve themselves in work outside their role, we support them to do so.”

Work conditions have been enhanced by the development of new offices in Pretoria and Cape Town, which have achieved Green Star accreditation by the Green Building Council South Africa.

SANRAL is also working towards accreditation from the international Top Employers Institute which certifies excellence in employment conditions.

J o B c r e AT i o nSANRAL has contributed significantly to sustainable job creation over the years principally by contracting small businesses to undertake Routine Road Maintenance (RRM) along the entire national network. (See Engineering.)

In its most recent financial year, the agency invested R2.4 billion on contracts with small businesses, of which more than R2 billion went to 1 137 black enterprises.

SANRAL skills development programmes trained 25 784 people in road-building projects at a cost of about R30 million, of which 11 370 were women, and SANRAL’s projects created 29 120 average equivalent full-time jobs and 61 408 jobs opportunities of varying duration at a total cost of about R2.1 billion.

SANRAL also supports the delivery of wellness services to RRM teams. This is done through a SANRAL service provider, CareWorks, which provides HIV and Aids awareness counselling and testing and workplace programmes that are monitored and coordinated by Wellness Champions appointed by RRM contractors. Wellness Champions also submit reports on programme progress and challenges.

SANRAL scholarship recipients in 2010 (above), 2013 (centre) and 2011 (below). SANRAL has awarded a total of 177 scholarships and 106 bursaries in the 2014 academic year.

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Through a tender process, SANRAL appointed a construction manager to mentor prospective local participants in the five project packages. Local people were identified as potential small business owners who received 24-month SA Qualifications Authority accredited training in business and construction skills.

Each business owner appointed a person who also received training as a construction supervisor, and local people received training as

construction workers. Work was allocated to each business owner through a tender process, with the construction manager providing mentoring throughout project implementation.

Projects were packaged for labour-intensive work, but provision was made for an establishment fee to enable business owners to acquire basic construction equipment which they own on completion of projects. “The outcome was new, safe infrastructure for local communities along the R61, the development of 55 new, well-trained business owners and 55 construction supervisors, and trained workers,” says Nel-Verwey. “The project was so successful that we have developed similar projects. Currently there are 11 community development projects in construction in the Eastern Cape, and several more in the design phase.”

Business owners who have completed projects are able to register with the Construction Industry Development Board, which enables them to bid for government work.

SANRAL is encouraging municipalities to consider contracting business owners who have completed projects.

They will also be in a position to tender for RRM work elsewhere on the national road network, and for other small to medium projects developed by SANRAL. However, SANRAL’s contribution to job creation has gone well beyond the national road network.

As an example, SANRAL was approached about four years ago by a ward councillor for Madidi township in Madibeng Local Municipality, North West province. She asked SANRAL for

assistance to upgrade a six kilometre stretch of gravel road, which is Madidi’s main entry and exit route. The road had deteriorated to such an extent that taxis, buses and delivery vehicles refused to use it, forcing residents to walk long distances in order to leave or enter the area.

SANRAL decided to assist as part of its policy to support job creation and community development, explains the agency’s

Regional Manager of the Northern Region Ismail Essa. It reached agreement with North West province to re-lay the road with an asphalt surface at a cost of R30 million, with the province and SANRAL each contributing R15 million.

The partners identified 13 local contractors and put them through an accredited business training course.

They were then registered as start-up contractors by the Construction Industry Development Board. Supervisors were identified and trained, and about 600 local people were trained as road construction workers.

The new road has brought significant benefits to the community, reports Essa. Examples include:

• Development of new skills, with a few contractors managing to secure additional work. SANRAL maintains a database with contractor details and refers this to its own national road contractors who may need to subcontract work.• Taxis, buses and delivery vehicles now use the road, and taxis have even lowered their fares to take into account the reduced wear and tear on their vehicles.• Sidewalks and designated crossing points have improved pedestrian safety, particularly for school children.

Susan Nthangeni, the ward councillor who initiated the project, has been promoted by being appointed as the member for economic development on the Madibeng mayoral committee, adds Essa.

He notes that SANRAL has undertaken similar projects but that the Madidi road upgrade was particularly successful because of the strong provincial and local political support it received.<<


This independent report was commissioned by The South African National Road Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL). Its contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any publication with which it is distributed.

SANRAL, 48 Tambotie Avenue, Val de Grace, Pretoria, 0184PO Box 415, Pretoria, 0001

Telephone: 012 844 8000 • Fax : 012 844 8200 • Website: www.sanral.co.za

(Above) SANRAL scholarship recipients attending events at the agency’s head office in Pretoria. (Right) A SANRAL careers brochure.

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