The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) reached an agreement with road contractors, which will afford residents upgraded infrastructure and financial retention.
“In the past, the municipality was faced with the challenge of community members preventing contractors from working within the area.
“Communities wanted the municipality to employ them to carry out construction work in their own communities,” said the EMM’s spokesperson, Mr Themba Gadebe.
He said the EMM designed a Community Return Earnings (CRE) agreement in addressing the issue.
According to Mr Gadebe, the CRE agreement requires that 25 percent of construction work conducted benefits the community members where construction work is carried out.
He said the 25 percent CRE constitutes community members employed for labour, hiring construction vehicles or materials from a warehouse within the community.
“Construction companies can buy petrol from a local garage and instead of hiring a chemical toilet, they can pay a fee to use an outside toilet from one of the residential homes,” he said.
Mr Gadebe said this agreement aims to revitalise township economies in heeding the call by Gauteng Premier David Makhura.
“The CRE initiative not only provides temporary employment, it is aimed at boosting township businesses,” said Mr Gadebe.
He said it also aims to enshrine a sense of pride and ownership of projects, which in turn ensures that residents take good care of the infrastructure they have built.
He advised residents wishing to become general workers on such projects to contact their relevant ward councillor.
