IN heeding the call by Gauteng premier David Makhura to revitalise township economies, the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality has established an agreement with road contractors that will afford residents upgraded infrastructure and financial retention.
The construction of a new pedestrian bridge, pathway or patching of a tarred road are some of the municipality’s many service delivery obligations.
In the past, however, the municipality was faced with the challenge of community members preventing contractors from working as they claimed that the municipality should employ them to carry out construction work in their own community.
In addressing the issue, the metro has designed a Community Return Earnings (CRE) agreement which requires that 25 per cent of construction work conducted benefits the community members where construction work is being carried out.
The 25 per cent CRE may come in the form of employing community members for labour, hiring construction vehicles or materials from a warehouse within the community, purchasing petrol from a filling station in the area or even paying a fee to use an outside toilet from one of the residential homes instead of hiring a chemical toilet while construction work is being carried out.
“The community returns earnings initiative does not only provide temporary employment, it is aimed at boosting township businesses. It also goes as far as enshrining a sense of pride and ownership of projects, which in turn ensures residents take good care of the infrastructure they have built,” said Ekurhuleni spokesperson Themba Gadebe.
Residents wishing to become general workers on such projects should contact their ward councillor. Councillors work closely with the community liaison officer, who is an interface between contractors and the community.
