THE “ROADS FOR AFRICA
FOUNDATION”
A “MARSHALL
PLAN” TO OVERCOME THE LACK OF SERVICE DELIVERY, EMPOWERMENT, JOB CREATION AND
POVERTY RELIEF IN AFRICA
This document
contains many repeat sentences and paragraphs in various locations covered by
different headings but has been so compiled to allow individual headings to be
read in context.
The general infrastructure
in Africa is fast deteriorating. This we hear
daily on TV, radio and read in newspapers. The Governments appoint various
organisations and advisory committees to report the state of affairs and
recommend solutions and everything seem to stay in a downward spiral. This program encompasses the whole of Africa in general but reference to “articles” is based on
South African experiences.
Neglect in maintaining
drains and road verges are leading to the collapse of the road systems apart
from causing unnecessary accidents. Blocked drains flood roads, cause
accidents, death and destruction. This is totally unnecessary as tens of
thousands of jobs can be created by outsourcing maintenance work to small BEE
Companies that are properly resourced and supervised! The state of roads and
verges is becoming an embarrassment to Africa.
Refuse - rubbish and litter gets washed into rivers, streams and Purification Plants
and causes numerous other problems including destruction of the environment. THE TIMES Published: Feb 02, 2008 “Now it’s a water crisis” (Read the article at the
end of the document) By Bobby Jordan and Marcia Klein. PRETORIA NEWS Published Aug 27, 2008 “Municipality literacy shock” (Read the article at the end
of the document) By Xolani Mbanjwa.
Service
delivery, Empowerment, Job Creation and Poverty Relief have not been addressed
adequately. In addition to the electrical crisis the deterioration of the
country’s Infrastructure is ongoing. Municipalities are generally devoid of the
skilled personnel who should be formulating the integrated development plans
and then draw on M.I.G. – (Municipal Infrastructure Grant)
for funding to undertake service delivery or job creation or other Government
programmes. (See article – “A report card of South Africa’s
Engineering infrastructure”)
http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2007/march/engineers.htm
High
unemployment with very little chance of getting employment is soul destroying
and leaving the population in despair. Crime is rampant and Africa’s
reputation internationally is not good. Endless fragmented policies aimed at
poverty relief, empowerment and service delivery have not addressed the basic
problems – skills and the ability to train people properly. THE STAR Published: Oct 18, 2006 “UN unveils plan to help SA meet its targets” (Read the article at the end of the document) By Sheena Adams.
The acquisition
of skills is easily a fifteen year project. Practical skills are not adequate
on their own. Theoretical skills are vital to be able to plan and address a
problem. Theoretical skill without practical knowledge is just as bad.
The key issues
that need addressing holistically are-
1.
Empowerment
2.
Job Creation
3.
Poverty Relief
4.
Education
5.
Skills development
6.
Health
7.
Food
8.
Above all a sound Infrastructure
to support items 1 – 7.
The basis of the
“Roads for Africa Foundation” programme has been the formulation of a programme
that can integrate simultaneously in a holistic manner of all the needs
detailed under one disciplined and controlled programme by using the
deteriorating Infrastructure as the practical training ground with a set time
frame under a PPP (Public Private Partnership) Contract
http://www.ppp.gov.za/ to deliver a service
to Communities, Municipalities and the Provincial and Central Governments. BUSINESS REPORT Published: August 28, 2006 “New guidelines will help municipalities” (Read
the article at the end of the document) By Thabang Mokopanele” as drafted by The National Treasury”.
The service will
be provided by adequately resourced Teams of woman (primarily) with a
supporting labour force of workers to perform set work loads for set rates for
a set period (3 years). The work loads will be formulated, considering the
needs of all the role players. The poor citizens (the majority) of Africans
deserve the dignity of being provided with a decent roof over their heads,
clean water to drink, good roads to travel on, a concerned health system, a
decent education opportunity and a clean and healthy environment.
Rates for the
work load will be formulated by the Public Works and other Department’s and
will be adequately linked to cover the set monthly cost of the Team’s
operational needs.
The work rates
total will include a 10% profit to go into a fixed Bank Trust Account to
provide working capital to each BEE Team once the Teams have been dismissed
after three years. They will then have been fully resourced with capital equipment
of their own, skills, acumen, three years balance sheet and working capital
that were accumulated over the three year period in their Bank Trust Account.
This will enable them to stand on their own and to continue to be contributing
citizens of the country.
Banks will not
provide funding to BEE Companies that have no assets or track record. It would
be unrealistic to expect commerce and industry to provide work to BEE Companies
that have no skills, no working capital and no equipment.
The Government
cannot continue allocating work and taxes to under resourced BEE Companies that
are unable to tender correctly, perform work poorly or not at all or abandon
contracts or do more damage to the Infrastructure than good and leave the
surrounds in a derelict state.
The “Roads for
Africa Foundation” programme is ongoing and based on three year periods when the
empowered Teams are dismissed and replaced with new Teams so that the maintenance
of the Infrastructure and training are ongoing. It cannot be a stop start
procedure. It is claimed by the World Bank that five years of neglect of a Country’s
Infrastructure can destroy fifty years of development.
The “Roads for
Africa Foundation” Programme is a Marshall Plan (A United States program of
economic aid for the reconstruction of Europe (1948-1952); named after George
Marshall) to fast track poverty relief, Empowerment,
job creation and service delivery. It links practical and theoretical training
by alternating the owner operators of the Teams, half working the other half in
theoretical training. South
Africa has 284 Municipalities and Metros,
merely by each Municipality deploying 5 Teams on average will be 1136 Teams
deployed.
Finance for the
equipment could be provided by Commercial Banks against PPP (Public Private
Partnership) Contacts.
Each Team has 8
owner operators, this equal 9088 people empowered.
Each Team
employs 25 support workers. This equals 28,400 people employed full-time for
three years.
The local Municipalities,
Provincial and Central Government can deploy thousands more to maintain rural
roads and other aspects of the Infrastructure. Millions of Rands
could be saved in Social Grants by putting people to work – work that has to be
done to keep the Infrastructure clean, maintained and functional. Maintenance
and repair are simple and basic and repetitive. Teams will be under supervision
of competent general foreman and resident Engineers and administrators.
The limited
number of skilled Engineers in Government structures will be free and able to
attend to serious service delivery issues and be able to concentrate on
integrated development projects – not get bogged down with daily minor
repetitive issues such as a filling up potholes, fixing road verges and leaking
pipes and pruning trees growing through electrical wires and a host of other
maintenance problems.
The maintenance
among other tasks of the ten of thousands of kilometres of rural dirt roads is
the “core” of the proposed work load. These derelict dirt roads hinder the
development of service delivery in health, education, agriculture and general
service delivery projects, they hinder the development of goods and services
and human resources!
MISSION STATEMENT AND OBJECTIVE
(a)
Establish the Infrastructure to recruit and train In-house BEE Teams
to maintain Municipalities, Central Government and Provincial assets.
(b)
Provide them as registered Companies with three year maintenance
contracts within a PPP (Public Private Partnership) Contract.
(c)
“Roads for Africa Foundation” or a management Team working in
association with them will be the controlling structure to deliver a service
under the PPP (Public Private Partnership) Contract to the Municipalities, Central
and Provincial Government.
(d)
Provide the Teams with a support Infrastructure that will ensure
they –
(1)
Perform their tasks to
acceptable and specified standards.
(2)
Have sound financial guidance
and other training structures available to them.
(3)
Have suitable and appropriate
capital equipment and tools to perform their tasks.
(4)
Have a yearly balance sheet of
their Company.
(5)
Ensure that all taxes are paid.
(6)
See that all creditors are
promptly paid.
(7)
In general provide a sound base
in which the BEE Companies can obtain skills, acumen, capital and equipment
that will enable them to enter Commerce and Industry on their own and in a
manner that will ensure their success.
(8)
Provide the opportunity for the
marginalized African Population to have a fair and reasonable chance at
obtaining work and developing entrepreneurial skills within the African
economy.
(9)
Alleviate abject poverty.
(10)
Protect the National Assets (Infrastructure)
by seeing that it is maintained on a regular basis.
(11)
Use the maintenance of Infrastructure
as the practical and theoretical training ground.
Ancient proverb: “Give a man a fish and you feed
him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
PROPOSED
STRUCTURE
BUSINESS TIMES Published: June 18, 2008 “Aim for
the top tier, SA urged” (Read the article
at the end of the document) By Ethel Hazelhurst as reported by Ricardo
Hausmann, who chairs a panel of International Economic Experts advising the
Government.
(a) A Team of 8 persons forms a BEE
Company at their own expense. This will enable them to obtain a yearly balance
sheet, acquire credit and tenders at a later date.
(b) Each BEE company will employ 25
(twenty five) support employees.
(c) Each Team will receive a three
year set contract from “Roads for Africa Foundation” to perform set tasks under
a “PPP” (Public Private Partnership) contract!
(d) Each Team will be under the control and mentorship of the “Roads for
Africa Foundation” or a management Team working in association with them programme.
(e) “Roads for Africa Foundation” or a management Team working in association
with them will administer the project in conjunction with the Authorities viz Municipalities,
Provincial and Central Government.
(f) All accounts will be regularly audited.
(g) Each Team will receive a yearly balance sheet.
(h) Reputable auditors will be appointed by the client.
(i) The Teams will be replaced every three years with new Teams so that
training and Empowerment are ongoing.
(j) “Roads for Africa Foundation” or a management Team working in
association with them ensures that the workload allocated to the Teams is
performed to set standards and specifications.
(k) All client payments to the BEE Companies and re-payment distribution
to creditors are controlled by “Roads for Africa Foundation” or a management
Team working in association with them, the Banks and other accounting systems.
(All fixed and repetitive costs are easily identifiable). (Trust Accounts).
This account is locked for the 3 (three) year period.
(l) All repetitive consumables required by the maintenance BEE Companies
will be further outsourced to smaller BEE Companies.
(m) Ongoing and repetitive training in Business Management and other
appropriate subjects will be compulsory.
(n) All agreements will be legally binding with set checks, balances and
to include suspension and forfeiture for non performance and to see that all
role players in the project are fully committed to their undertakings and
spirit of the programme.
(o) All Teams will be required to have heavy duty licences and minimum
acceptable scholastic qualifications (Grade 8 – Std. 6)
Estimated Monthly Cost per Team:
-
Heavy duty 4 x 4 Tractor
Instalments
Heavy duty Dump Truck Trailer Instalments
Grader instalments
Refuse Trailer Instalment
Water Tanker Instalment
Fuel @ 120 litres per day x 24
days
Salaries owner /operators
Wages 25 (twenty five) support
workers
Servicing of equipment
Overalls supplied every two
months
Safety kit (per Team)
Small tools (spades, rakes, picks
mowers etc.)
Administration by “Roads for Africa Foundation” or
a management Team working in association with them
General Manager (per 120 Teams)
Resident Engineer (per 120 Teams)
Foreman (per 40 Teams)
Under Study (Resident Engineer)
(2)
Office Staff (3)
Under Study Foreman (2)
Support Workers (Foreman 2)
Office (rent)
Cleaning Staff
Security (shifts) (6)
Communication Radios
Tracking system (Teams Workload
and Route)
Vehicles
LDV Foreman Engineer, Teacher,
General
Manager
4 Ton Trucks (one per 4 Teams) 5
Units
Drivers (5)
Petrol and Diesel
Maintenance and Servicing of
vehicles
Equipment and vehicles
(Administration)
Schooling – (Theoretical
Training)
Teachers (2)
Teaching Assistant (2)
Equipment
Vehicles 2 x LDV’s
Site and Accommodation
10% profit to Trust Fund
Each Team’s equipment will
consist of a: -
(1)
Tractor
(2)
Grader (Maintenance of rural / gravel roads)
(3)
Dump Truck Trailer
(4)
Refuse Trailer
(5)
Water Tanker
(6)
Small Tools and Equipment
(7)
Permutation of Equipment depending on workload.
The programme / operational
structure / objectives are for the outsourcing of: -
(a) Fully equipped Woman Empowerment Teams,
for the repair and maintenance of the Road Network and general Infrastructure.
(b) Introducing Theoretical Training
courses that will ensure a comprehensive training programme and skills
development.
(c) Structuring the Empowerment Teams
to employ personnel.
(d) Providing the Empowerment Teams
with set contracts (3 three years) and set work loads to provide security for
the Teams and their workers.
(e) Alleviating poverty in Communities
/ economies by introducing wages and salaries into the local economy. Linking
the resources and needs of the Empowerment Teams to the broader community. –
(i)
Resources to improve the quality of life of Communities.
(ii)
Empower Communities to supply the empowered Teams
with their logistical needs (viz overalls and livery, small tools, maintenance
of equipment etc.)
(f) Saving Government departments
millions of Rands in Social Grants and poverty
relief programmes by putting Communities to work.
(g) Providing education and training
of a high standard to community members.
(h) Providing the necessary qualified
on-site supervision and administration that will ensure the protection of all
role players in the Programme. (Foremen, Engineers and Administrators).
(i) Providing credible diplomas and
certificates of competency.
(j) Providing each Team of owner
operators with yearly balance sheets.
(k) Using the work load as a
Practical Training Medium.
(l) Using the PPP (Public Private
Partnership) programme to deliver the services.
What this Project means is that:
-
(1)
35 (thirty five) woman will go directly into
business or be employed at a level that will provide them after 3 years with
capital equipment, expertise and acumen, and balance sheets, working capital
and code ten licence (heavy duty). These Teams will be replaced every 3
(three) years with new recruits.
(2)
Woman will not be left to do manual work, but have
the opportunity through the “Roads for Africa Foundation” Programme to upgrade
their skills and become owner / operators.
(3)
Municipalities and the Government will have access
to a workforce that is able to perform the basic maintenance tasks necessary for
the upkeep of the Infrastructure to a higher standard and under sound
management.
(4)
The skilled staff in Municipalities will be able to
concentrate on major service delivery projects and not get bogged down with
endless minor problems.
(5)
South Africa will be presented as a clean,
well-maintained country, particularly to tourists and investors.
(6)
Voters will see a meaningful improvement in the Infrastructure.
(7)
Crime will be reduced by creating jobs and better
living standards.
By outsourcing and extending the
programme country wide to all Municipalities and Government departments,
business opportunities could be created for 1420 (one thousand four hundred and
twenty) owner / operator Teams.
EXAMPLE:
284 Municipalities x 5 Teams =
1,420 items (average) x 8 owner / operators = 11,350 Self-employed people.
1,420 BEE Teams with 25 Support
Personnel per Team = 35,500 jobs created.
With all the supporting
structures to supply fuels, oils, tools and livery, servicing, spare parts and
a plant to manufacture the equipment, a further 2,000 people can be employed –
Totaling ± 46,850 people.
Each BEE Team’s yearly workload cost would be less per year for payment
for their workload in maintaining roads, verges, culverts, drains and other
components of the Infrastructure that has to be maintained than the money being
given as Social Grants to the unemployed. A number of Ministries could have
their social delivery objectives achieved within the Team’s workload. e.g.
(i)
Delivering
clean water to rural Communities.
(ii)
Helping with
agricultural production by using the towing – tractors for ploughing, planting
and reaping.
(iii)
The Team’s
practical and theoretical training could incorporate building rural Schools and
Clinics.
A separate fund could be established out of funds held indifferent
budgets that cannot be accessed through beaurocracy e.g. the M.I.G. (Municipal Infrastructure Grant) Fund. The Central Government could save billions
annually by adopting a “Marshall Plan” that will save time and have a clear
objective of what has to be done by whom and when and how. Eliminate minor and
major overlapping projects that are not sustainable are of short duration,
cannot be audited for results and jump from one idea to another by the
different Ministries on how to solve the problem of job creation, training,
poverty relief, crime, food security, housing and reams of other issues that
are not solving the basic issues of Service Delivery as a whole to the African
population.
The Electricity crisis that has been created through neglect is only
the beginning of a total collapse of the Infrastructure. ENGINEERING NEWS Published: 6
May 08 “Engineering body moves to
tackle National Infrastructure crisis” (Read the article at the end of the document) By Christy van der
Merwe.
As stated tens of thousands of jobs can be created via the basic and
repetitive need to maintain roads, pipelines, sewerage, reticulation and a host
of simple repetitive maintenance tasks that can be used to solve Empowerment,
Training and Service Delivery commitments. The number of people that can be put
to work can exceed 50,000 (fifty thousand). The cost of creating these jobs is minuscule;
millions will be saved in grants and social services by putting marginalized
population to work. BUSINESS REPORT
Published: June 18, 2008 “Harvard Group Details
Growth Roadblocks” (Read the article at the end of the document) By Ethel Hazelhurst as presented by Ricardo
Hausmann, who chairs the International Growth Advisory Panel.
The “Roads for Africa Foundation” programme can provide the necessary
service to the Municipalities and Government with competent supervision and
structures and the thousands of vital business opportunities and jobs needed by
the marginalized masses.
By having a set programme that will bring into a community in an
ongoing manner employment and business opportunities, an economy can be
established or stimulated, regular ongoing wages brought in will provide the
catalyst to establish businesses. Businesses that will have a fixed customer
base and that will be sustained by the “Roads for Africa Foundation” programme.
The programme provides for the outsourcing of all the logistical needs of the
Teams.
As an example each Team will consist of approximately 35 (thirty five)
people. They will be supplied every two months with two overalls and other
livery. Every 30 (thirty) Teams deployed would financially support a small
business to supply the overalls by having a fixed customer base. This could
sustain 6 (six) woman comfortably while they develop a broader customer base.
They would have the comfort of knowing they had a fixed customer base and
security of steady work!
School uniforms and other clothing items could be manufactured. There
would be numerous numbers of these little factories. Based on the number of
teams deployed there would be the capacity to handle big orders by the
factories combining their resources. Brand names could be established. A
marketing programme would be supported by knowing that orders can be fulfilled.
The same process could be used to supply the brooms, spades, rakes etc. to the
Teams.
Other possible opportunities could be:-
Bakery
Processing of fruits and vegetables
Brick making
Windows and doors, if the development of the Infrastructure
was expanded.
By having Teams in Regions on a permanent basis, there will be a steady
flow of money in Communities, not only from wages and salaries, but from all
peripheral logistical support structures supplying the Teams needs, but also
from food production and benefication.
The “Roads for Africa Foundation” system introduces a new concept in
job creation and Empowerment. It protects the poorest of the poor during the
training period with structures that can deliver a credible service to the Authorities,
protects all role players; see that Government assets are well maintained and
protected on an ongoing basis with set deliverable and milestones. It’s a
program that’s a two way street where all participants must deliver.
By adopting an upward movement towards a combination of mechanization
and labour that can stimulate rural economies in a sustainable manner within a
controlled environment under a PPP (Public Private
Partnership) contract to supply teams that will maintain the Infrastructure and
perform peripheral services that will improve living conditions for the poor in
a visible and rapid manner is an alternative that can be provided by the “Roads
for Africa Foundation” programme.
By putting
people to work in a meaningful and sustainable manner, millions would be saved
by not having to pay Social Grants, poverty relief and other Government support
for the poor and unemployed.
Further savings
would be made out of:-
(a)
Training costs incorporated
into the Teams monthly costing.
(b)
Health savings via (good
nutrition) Hospitals not clogged up with ill people.
(c)
Providing clean water.
(d)
Building Schools and
Clinics as part of the Training Programme.
(e)
Food production in rural areas
by not having stand alone and fund other food production programme that will
duplicate costly tractors and require massive administrative back up systems
that are not available.
(f)
Funding non sustainable
business ventures.
(g)
Generally by incorporating the
other components of the Infrastructure development as part of the Training
Programme e.g. Schools, Clinics, houses, pipelines etc. in not paying higher
prices from established contractors from Towns, Cities and urban areas.
(h)
Massive fuel savings by not
using numerous other programmes that will need fleets of overlapping transport
vehicles, capital equipment and skilled staff’ salaries, housing and benefits
that are not available to make the project function in a business-like manner.
Roads are a
critical component in any Economy. They allow for goods, services and trade in
general to take place. Poor roads lead to the National
Transport Fleet deteriorating at a rapid pace. Commercial goods get destroyed
in transit or through avoidable accidents. Crops that have taken months of hard
work to produce go rotten when trucks break down.
Africa in general has vast
distances of rural dirt / gravel roads – these roads are mostly in an
impassable state or are getting to it. Fuel costs are astronomically high, food
production costs are increasing dramatically and these poor roads are going to
cause untold damage to the transport fleets and wastage through accidents and
breakdowns apart from unnecessary injury to citizens.
It is
astronomically costly to surface and maintain rural /dirt roads and it does not
warrant this cost due to low traffic volumes. A well maintained gravel /dirt
road can be just as good as a surfaced road and can adequately serve the needs
of rural Communities.
The maintenance
of rural roads requires costly imported road building equipment in particular
Road Graders. These imported machines are costly to maintain and to repair.
They also use large amounts of fuel – (between 30 to 36 litres per hour). These
machines can also only be used to provide one task and that is road grading.
This is an expensive investment when not in use. When gravel / dirt roads are
not maintained they cost astronomical amounts of money to rehabilitate.
The “Roads for
Africa Foundation” programme uses the maintenance of the Rural Road Infrastructure
to promote Empowerment, create Jobs and Poverty Relief and it is the Practical
Training Ground. The core ingredient of the “Roads for Africa Foundation”
programme is the Terra-Grader. The Terra-Grader won the Design Excellence Award
sponsored by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) and the SMART Award
sponsored by the South African Institute of Civil Engineers and South African
Road Agency and SANLAM.
·
The Terra-Grader is cost
effective and a lot less then a conventional Road Grader.
·
The Terra-Grader is South
African designed and manufactured.
·
It incorporate a 6,000 (six
thousand) litre water tank, fire fighting system, ripper, spray bar and compact
rollers.
·
Its owning and operating costs are
a lot less than that of owning and operating a conventional Road Grader.
·
Its productivity is higher.
·
It has a bigger blade than a
conventional Road Grader.
·
Its low maintenance and rugged
design make it ideal for rural conditions where there is no support structure.
The tractor
drawn Terra-Grader uses only 8 to 10 litres of fuel per hour. This machine is
able to build, maintain or rehabilitate gravel /
dirt roads at a fraction of the cost of a Conventional Road Grader.
Africa’s rural road system has
been neglected for years. The basic Road
Building and Maintenance
structure no longer exists. By deploying Teams that are fully resourced with
the right cost effective equipment, the roads can be kept in pristine condition
allowing for the safe guarding of transport fleets, food produce and service
delivery.
Each Road Building
and Maintenance Team will be equipped with or permutation of:-
(a)
100kW 4 x 4 Tractor,
(b)
Terra-Grader,
(c)
18 Ton Soil / Dump Trailer,
(d)
40 Cubic Meters Trash Trailer,
(e)
20,000 Litre Water Tanker
(f)
Small tools, road signs etc.
Each Team will
consist of 8 owner operators.
Each Team will
consist of 25 Support workers.
Each Team will
have a set monthly repetitive workload.
The Team’s
workload will be practical training ground. The payment for each Team’s
workload will be equal to the Teams Monthly Operational Costs. The workload
will be established by the PWD (Public Works Department) – Roads Division etc.
teams will be hired in under a PPP (Public Private Partnership) Contract to
provide a service.
Repair and Maintenance Teams will draw the materials they need such
as bitumen, sand, stone, cement, paint etc. from the client as it is needed.
The road Foreman and Resident Engineer will draw up a requisition for the
required goods stating quantities need specifications and place required etc.
The Resident Engineer and Foreman could be responsible for estimating the
yearly requirements and present them to the client so that the materials
needed, will be readily available to the Teams.
The purchase of materials is generally already functioning as part
of Municipal and Provincial structures. Any other practical system could be
utilized to provide the Teams with the materials they may use e.g. an Empowerment
Company could be contracted to supply the materials under tender and the
materials needed drawn from BEE Company by the Teams. The Resident Engineer and
Foreman would be responsible for seeing that the correct and specified materials
were available from the supplying Company. Three year contracts could be given
to the BEE Company to make the operation sustainable.
Suitable qualified health workers with the necessary basic skills in
health matters can easily be deployed along side the educationalists to
introduce various health programmes during planned theoretical courses. This
will reduce transport cost and other administration costs.
Numerous Communities
have been drinking contaminated water. Their water supply has been contaminated
due to treatment plants being dysfunctional. People in rural areas are left to
draw water from contaminated natural water points. Humans and animals drinking,
washing and defecating in these water points are also causing illness and
death. ENGINEERING NEWS Published: 18 Jul 08 “Municipal engineer shortfall could precipitate a
water crisis, NGO warns” (Read the article at the end of the document) By Brindaveni Naidoo. Also see THE
STAR Published: September 09 2008 “Water-treatment
plants in shocking state” (Read the
article at the end of the document) By Louise Flanagan.
By the Authorities placing bulk PVC water tanks (Jo Jo) at each
household or Communities, they can be readily filled with guaranteed purified
water by the tractors drawing bulk tankers of water that has been purified at a
central point by a responsible person.
The Terra-Grader is also able to transport water to the individual
households and fill up their tanks once or twice a week or once a month. This
task can be easily worked out and be part of each Team’s monthly workload.
Millions will be
saved by people not getting seriously ill and dying because of drinking
contaminated water. This saving can easily be offset against the cost of
providing each household with a 5,000 litre water tank. Further rainwater could
easily be collected and stored from roofs during the rainy season. Within the “Roads
for Africa Foundation” programme staff in positions of responsibility will
firstly not be put in positions that they are unable to manage or be left to
just shrug it off when they cause numerous deaths and illness. Accountability
will be the order of the day.
Operating a
successful business in a hostile and competitive market requires a host of
skills. Having practical skills is only “part of the process” in having a
successful business. Internationally 90% of business fails because of a lack of
theoretical knowledge as well as lack of working capital and a market for a
service or product.
The theoretical
course will consist of all courses such as tendering, buying, budgeting,
cash-flow, reading and understanding contracts, surveying, costing, maintenance
of equipment and all other courses or diplomas that will be appropriate to
general involvement in the construction industry and general business needs.
Courses will be developed by the relevant experts in the educational
profession.
Each Team of
Owner Operators will consist of 6 – 8 persons. 50% will do practical training
through the workload and 50% will be theoretical training. (They will
alternate) so they become proficient in both aspects of running a business.
Every District
will have a training centre. Educators will travel from training centre to
training centre. They will be adequately paid and receive accommodation etc. to
see that dedicated professionals deliver an adequate service. The courses are not aimed at University
degrees but to put the grounding in place for the empowered to further their
studies if they so choose at a later date. The teaching staff will be from
suitably qualified retired persons who are familiar with the rural environment
whenever possible.
The monthly
workload will also be the practical training ground which primarily will be
to:-
Grade and
maintain ± 100km of gravel / dirt road.
Maintain verges,
culverts and drains.
Cut and maintain
vegetation growth.
Repair fences.
Collect refuse.
Deliver water to
Communities, or permutation of tasks.
Plough and plant
rural agricultural plots, or permutation of tasks.
This workload
will be repetitive and at a fixed rate for 3 years, (the duration of the
training and Empowerment programme for each Team). The only exception to the
costing would be fuel.
The tasks will
be repetitive to ensure that the assets of the Municipal, Provincial and
Central Government are well maintained and repaired and that Africa
is kept in a clean and functional state as an ongoing project. Further
practical training could be added as the Team’s expertise and skills increases
to build Schools, Clinics, Police Stations, houses etc.
It is estimated
that cost for building rural Schools, Clinics or Government facilities are on
average six times more expensive than in a City or urban area.
Established
contractors are reluctant to undertake contracts in rural areas because of the
lack of material, lack of local skills, poor roads and long distances, with no
accommodation and high transport costs.
Tens of
thousands of jobs could be created in rural areas by empowering, resourcing and
using rural Communities to build up their own Infrastructure.
Creating
meaningful opportunities in rural areas will stop the drift and influx to urban areas, stop the drain on urban resources and
reduce crime.
Health and
education costs will be dramatically reduced building the rural Infrastructure.
Significant and
rapid results could be achieved by adopting a holistic approach to undertake
the delivery of:-
Roads,
Health,
Education,
Water Supply,
Food Production,
by adequately
resourced and supervised Empowerment Teams.
Billions in
overlapping of necessary needed skills, supervision, tendering, transport costs
etc. by different Ministries will be saved by adopting such an approach under a
separate program. The roads can be kept functional; all the basic buildings
necessary for health and education, administration etc. could be done from one
source in double quick time.
It would free up
skilled staff to perform their professional tasks without reams of bottle neck delays,
no access, accommodation and other impediments that frustrate staff because
they cannot get on with their professional tasks. Deploying professional people
into the rural areas must not be “pioneering”, they must be treated with
respect and consideration, they need to be housed, transported safely and be
generally well looked after. Skilled professional Government staff would be
freed up to concentrate on major service delivery projects.
The monthly
workload will be used as the practical training medium. Teams will be trained
by the General Foreman to do the building, repairing and maintenance to the
specifications set out by the experts and authorities related to the work being
done. Only work of the highest calibre as set out will be paid for. Any
substandard work will be redone until it’s acceptable by the relevant
authority.
Lecturers will
travel to Regions and undertake theoretical training of the Teams as the
syllabus requires them to do. The Team members in theoretical training will
gather at a point in the community and receive their theoretical training. They
will alternate with the balance of the Team
performing the practical training workload. Testing of students will be done by
suitable qualified Institutions.
The tractor is a
key component in the “Roads for Africa Foundation” programme. Apart from towing
the Terra-Grader a tractor is a crucial element in rural food production.
During the ploughing, planting and reaping season, the tractor can be taken off
the road maintenance programme and put to use tilling the land and increasing
food production, as the Empowerment Teams will be deployed in rural areas,
tractors will be readily available to attend to food production.
It is very
unlikely that the Department of Agriculture will be able to place sufficient
number of tractors, staff with expertise and maintenance skills over a vast
area. The cost of duplicating the tractors would be eliminated. Generally
speaking agricultural tractors are under-utilized on farms and spend very
little time being used productively except in ploughing, planting and reaping
season.
Tractors are
becoming very expensive. There is already a world-wide shortage and it is
unlikely that Africa could afford the luxury
of having millions in value worth of tractors sitting idly around in storage
for 9 months of the year. It is now possible to dramatically increase food production
in rural areas by using the “Roads for Africa Foundation” concept and
mechanizing the small rural plots, farms and communal lands. Trying to
mechanize individual small farms or small Communities’ holdings is going to be
impossible and impractical!
Part of the
workload of Empowerment Teams will be to plough, plant, and reap at the
appropriate time. Set crops for a particular area will be established by
Agricultural Experts who will also provide the training for the local Communities.
“Roads for Africa Foundation” or the management Team working in association
with them will provide the experts needed to do the training and supervision or
experts could be provided by the Department of Agriculture.
The production
of the crops must provide for benefication that will increase the amount of
money going into a community via the increased food production. Mechanising
rural areas in food production can lead to the elimination of the “dreaded
hoe”.
It is proposed
that rural farmers’ first two crops be produced free to allow them to basically
improve their situation. After that all ploughing, planting and reaping be done
on contract by the Teams and the farmers then pay for the service. The revenue
generated will be placed in a fuel stabilization fund to pay for fuel increases
that are likely to be volatile and requests for constant fuel price increases
will be avoided.
Suitable
Agricultural Experts will be either employed by “Roads for Africa Foundation” or
the management Team working in association with them or drawn from the
Department of Agriculture, they will liaise with the General Foreman to see
that the workload as they direct is undertaken by the Teams. Proper planning
between the Agricultural Expert and the General Foreman will take place to see
that set objectives are met by the role players involved.
Food production
can be dramatically increased by utilizing the tractors that are in certain
areas, zones or Regions by taking them off road repair and maintenance and
using them to plough plant and reap during the planting season. They could
rapidly plough the land, fertilize and plant vast areas of rural Communities’
land. These areas would then be mechanized to make increased food production
possible. Food production cannot be increased manually with hoes – no matter
what kind of hoes the rural population is given.
The following
are the benefits that flow from using these tractors:-
(1)
Vast sums of money would be
saved by not duplicating the costly equipment that would normally be provided
by the Department of Agriculture.
(2)
The burden of having vast
stocks of fuel that is very costly to purchase and protect would be reduced.
(3)
The tractors would be properly
maintained.
(4)
The tractors would be driven by
competent and experienced drivers.
(5)
The tractors would be under
sound and competent Management.
(6)
The tractors would be fully
utilized and productive. All the Department of Agriculture would have to do is
provide the expertise on various crops, provide seed and fertilizer etc.
(7)
The 6,000 (six thousand) litre
water tank on the Terra-Grader could easily irrigate small household plots of
crops e.g. vegetables to avoid crop failure thus contributing to the reduction
of malnutrition.
Payments for the
Teams workload are fixed and the only adjustment to the operating costs will be
the volatile fuel issue. This will be solved by having a fuel stabilization
fund ex the contract ploughing done for the farmers.
BUSINESS REPORT Published:
July 28, 2008 “Animal feed puts SA farm trade in red” (Read the article at the end of the document) By Donwald Pressly as reported by “Professor Nick Vink of the Agricultural Economics
Department at the University
of Stellenbosch“.
Value could be added to crops that can now be produced in large volumes
by having tractors readily available by mechanizing rural settlements,
assessing crops potential to increase its value and potential to bring in
higher prices. The “Roads for Africa Foundation” programme provides for various
options and initiatives.
It is suggested that every rural household be given trees and plants
that could be eaten or processed by families e.g. Surplus fruits could be
processed into fruit-juices, canned or turned into jams and marmalades to add
value. All these items can support benefication if produced and processed in sufficient
quantities.
By getting large numbers of edible products produced by villages /
households sufficient quantities could be easily produced to support small
Processing Plants, to get cash in to people’s pockets, to reduce malnutrition
and poverty.
To introduce this process into Communities via the main process of
using the tractors, expertise, supervision and discipline under one basic plan
would not be difficult.
Each zone can establish their own product name for marketing purposes
or combine a number of zones, to support a co-operative, quantity of scale and
make marketing viable. The General Foreman’s duties as he circulates in and
around Communities is to see and supervise the establishment of the basic food
production Infrastructure, see that resources are put into place rapidly and
food production gets underway – this will obviously be done in conjunction with
the relevant Agricultural Expert.
Children should be encouraged to be part of the programme of tree
planting in each household, village or community. Subsidies for food production
could be provided to the small scale forming households to encourage them to
increase production and thus make the processing of Plants viable. Payments to
the farmers would be via the co-operative that has a sound Management structure
to see that the State does not get “ripped off”.
A major crop that is easy to grow and could be turned into “cold
pressed oil” or bio fuel is sunflower. By mechanizing all the rural household
plots and farms, economy of scale can be achieved. Woman farmers would, by
mechanizing rural areas, be relieved of their ongoing burden of food
production, put cash in their pockets and be encouraged to produce vital crops.
Suitable feeding schemes could be developed in the rural areas. They would now
have access to food, suitable transport structures, good roads and an
administration that is caring and doing what is supposed to be done.
All Teams equipment will be financed by commercial Banks. This money is readily available under a PPP (Public Private
Partnership) Contract from Banks. This system is acceptable to Financial
Institutes as it eliminates the risk Banks have to take under the Tender
system.
Banks are also
keen to provide the funding as it creates a market for them in providing the
Teams personal banking accounts for wages and salaries (electronic banking)
apart from the main bank accounts for the Teams workload, payments are also a
prize for them under the “Roads for Africa Foundation” programme.
Banks will
provide very favourable interest rates as they will not be incurring risk due
to under quoting lack of resources etc. experienced under the Tender system.
Insurance on the equipment will be less due to the number of vehicles being
insured under a single entity due to volumes, all vehicles and equipment will
be less expensive to purchase and maintain. High interest rates are one of the
main reasons businesses fail when starting up.
During the course of the last few years the “Roads for Africa
Foundation” marketing initiative in gaining support for the programme has been
overwhelming. From interaction with Traditional Leaders, Woman Groups,
Municipalities and numerous other concerned citizens it has been established
that no valid reason was ever given that was negative to the programme.
The one and only stumbling block was funding to pay for the Teams’
workload. Municipalities would readily deploy Teams to keep the Infrastructure
in shape but Budgets were not sufficient, or got bogged down by the M.I.G. fund
- (Municipal Infrastructure Grant). Read more about
it at the following internet link.
http://www.thedplg.gov.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=35
Traditional Leaders could not trace funding. Provincial Departments had
endless beaurocratic issues. It’s simple enough – one fund that pays for the
work being done by the Teams, each Team gets a set amount. Basic simple
problems from different Ministries are combined to make up the workload (a mini
Public Works Department). Teams are drawn and made up from Communities – they
employ people, get equipped and get on with the work – those that don’t perform
get removed and replaced. The African population daily hears of gigantic BEE
deals. Funding is guaranteed by Government to the Banks that fund these deals.
If Government can fund or guarantee funding from Banks for BEE deals
that readily make billionaires out of a selected few, it can also support a
fund for the rural poor and other marginalized citizens of Africa.
Municipalities are reaching “Meltdown Stage”. Municipal Management
isn’t sufficiently skilled or competent enough to see to the successful running
of Africa’s Municipalities. The neglect is
clearly visible to all Tax Payers, Tourists and Investors. Tax and Rate Payers
resistance is common. Skilled and resourced maintenance Teams have to be
outsourced by the Municipalities, to complete on a constant and ongoing basis
the tasks necessary for the total halt of the decay and neglect of the
Municipal Infrastructure. This is a critical situation to be in.
An opportunity presents itself that will not only address the
maintenance situation, but provide tens of thousands of jobs as well as allow
for the establishment of hundreds of small BEE Companies to provide the needed
maintenance Teams with their logistical needs. “Roads for Africa Foundation”
proposes that sufficient numbers of small BEE Companies be established that
will also receive in-house and ongoing practical and theoretical training in
business.
Maintenance encompassing roads, drains and gutters, storm water
channels, pavements and verges, alien vegetation, street signs, curbs and
including other basic tasks that are easily identifiable must be outsourced to
small BEE Companies. The Companies must be adequately resourced and under
competent and constant supervision.
This will be achieved by:-
(1) The Municipalities outsourcing
their maintenance under a Public Private Partnership with “Roads for Africa Foundation” or a management Team working in association with them.
(2) Municipalities providing three
year contracts to the BEE Companies under PPP (Public
Private Partnership) Contracts.
(3) They get paid a set monthly fee
to perform a set list of maintenance tasks that will keep Municipalities clean,
maintained and functional on a repetitive basis.
(4) They be under the control of the “Roads
for Africa Foundation” or a management Team
working in association with them programme and be subject to a Code of Conduct and performance criteria.
(5) The “Work Standard” will be set
by the Municipalities and overseen by “Roads for Africa Foundation” or management Team working in association with them by Engineers, Site Foreman and Public
Work Staff.
This programme can be extended to
Provincial and Government Departments.
Africa has a serious skills shortage.
Senior Personnel are bogged down with minor repetitive tasks and their
implementation, control and the problem of solving issues. The maintenance of
an Infrastructure is generally straight forward and repetitive. The “Roads for
Africa Foundation” programme is designed to maintain the basic infrastructure
and use it as a practical training ground and linking it to theoretical
training courses that will provide the necessary skills to the marginalized
population to reduce poverty and create jobs and provide skills and
empowerment.
One must take notice of the fact
that wealth is going to spread further into rural Communities via the small
businesses that can be established as a result of the spin offs, they will have a fixed customer base supplying the
Teams with their necessary operational and logistical needs such as fuel,
livery, small tools etc. The local suppliers will get a fair price for the
goods they supply and not be subject to Tenders or low pricing orders. Each
Team will be putting money into circulation just from wages and salaries. Each
Team will provide jobs for 35 (thirty five) people. Establishing these jobs is
costing virtually nothing as a Government Department performing the same
workload with the necessary equipment and logistical back up would be
astronomical!
Government
spends billions per month on Social Grants. Billion is siphoned of by corrupt
officials; this money has been disappearing out of Social Grant allocation for
years. SATURDAY STAR Published: July 26, 2008 “Baby Born on Tar” (Read the article at the end of the document) By Justine Gerardy and Candice
Bailey as probed by the “Social
Development Minister. It cannot be said there is no money for Empowerment and
job creation in rural areas. The billions stolen would employ numerous Teams.
These people would be taken out of the Social Grant system. Whether statistics
are right or wrong a substantial amount of money will be saved by putting
people to work.
The savings to Government would
also be substantial by eliminating overlapping of Staff and Equipment from
different Ministries to provide basic service delivery needs. Under the “Roads
for Africa Foundation” programme supervision, discipline, and the necessary
controls will see Government gets a quality service that will be assured, thus
saving Tax Payers vast sums of money! Poor quality service or work will be
unacceptable and will not be paid for. Teams that do not perform will be
dismissed and replaced by new Teams. Teams that are dismissed will forfeit all
benefits and equipment.
As Teams are deployed by the
Central and Local Governments they apply for funding from a specific fund
established by the Government Treasury.
Funding could be made available
from a specific fund that is established by the Government Treasury or the PWD (Public
Works Department). Alternatively the M.I.G. –
(Municipal Infrastructure Grant) Fund could be redefined to include repair and
maintenance. If a specific fund is established it could be called the
Urban and Rural Development and Maintenance Fund.
Budgets for
Teams ordered by the Authorities are easily established as the monthly workload
cost is known and fixed for the set 3 year period of the PPP (Public Private
Partnership) Contract.
As Teams are
deployed by the Municipalities, Provincial and Central Governments the budget
is increased. There is no increase in the monthly payment to the Teams with the
exception of the increase in fuel costs. (Fuel prices are unstable and will
need to be monitored and adjusted). All other operational costs can be kept
fixed as they are not volatile e.g. instalments, wages and salaries, tools
administration etc.
The number of
Teams deployed Country wide is easily verified on a daily basis and this would
also apply to the number of Teams on the Clients Data Base.
The basic administration of the “Roads
for Africa Foundation” will consist of:-
(1) Board of Directors – made up of imminent persons –
Persons who will take part in the “Roads for Africa Foundation” programme of
seeing to the elimination of poverty and further promoting the African
Renaissance.
(2) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Administration (Roads for Africa)
(3)
Regional Resident
Engineers (Responsible person). Responsible for a
number of Teams in a District or Region. His responsibilities will entail
seeing that the “Roads for Africa Foundation” programme functions to the
standard set and to pass the monthly payment certificates for the Teams work.
He will liaise between the Client (Central, Provincial and Local Government) in
the maters concerning the workloads that are of a technical nature. He will
interact with the General Foreman to see the workloads are performed to the
standards required by the Client.
(4)
General Foreman will have understudies from the various Tertiary Institutions. The
General Foreman will be responsible for a number of Teams practical training
and to see that the Teams perform their workload to the Clients’ satisfaction,
to also see that their understudies get sound practical training in their
necessary fields of expertise.
(5)
Owner Operators will undertake with their Staff, set workloads as determined and
required by the Client and the “Roads for Africa Foundation” programme.
(6)
Teams – Owner operators will be selected from Communities by Recruitment
Officers. Owner operators will need to be sufficiently proficient to enable
them to get a code 10 (Heavy duty) driving licences and be able to undertake
basic training and advancement (sufficiently literate). Only one Owner operator
per family who is sufficiently skilled to undertake the challenge of becoming
an Owner / Operator of Capital Equipment will be allowed per family.
Employed by
Owner operator, the support worker Teams will be selected by the Recruitment
Officer and the Owner operator Teams. Only one family member employed per Team.
Only one member per family per overall Team will be eligible for employment due
to the need to spread the work and opportunities over a greater area.
Teams will be
selected from communities in the same areas that they will be working in. Teams
(support workers) will be on three month probation to establish compatibility,
reliability and commitment. Teams will have a Code of Conduct which will have
to be adhered to.
Persons who are
unreliable and turn out to be unsuitable to the spirit of the programme will be
dismissed and forfeit all the opportunities and benefits made from the
programme. Every effort will be made to increase the skills and opportunities
for the Teams workforce.
If necessary
Teams workforces can be doubled and work two weeks on and two weeks off in an
effort to put money into more individual pockets and create more work
opportunities. Team’s workload will include necessary tasks to improve the
lives of their broader communities e.g. ploughing and planting of land, taking
clean water to households. General tasks to be established that will improve
the quality of the lives of the communities.
A Code of
Conduct will be established to ensure that all members of the Teams and
Administration behave in a manner that is socially acceptable and will ensure
the success of the programme. Any person or individual that will not or cannot
conform to the behaviour-able standards set will be dismissed and they will
forfeit all benefits flowing from the programme, (bringing the programme into
disrepute).
Rates will be
established for the workload that is fair and reasonable; they will cover and
include the administration of the programme by the “Roads for Africa
Foundation” or management Team working in association with them.
Rates for the
workloads envisaged for the Teams are readily available from the Public Works
Department and the Institute
of Civil Engineers and
various Universities. The rates established will include a 10% profit that will
go to each Teams Trust Account and will provide them with working capital at
the end of the three year period when they will be fully resourced and trained
and will have to stand on their own in Commerce and Industry.
The lack of concern that woman and children
in Africa are going to bed hungry, dirty, afraid, un-educated and jobless does
not warrant anything more than a passing thought and a slight discussion from
time to time, is leading countries down the road to ruin.
Money Aid invariably never achieves its good
hearted and well meant objectives. Existing Aid programmes deliver expensive
machinery and equipment to needy countries without a plan and checking
mechanism to utilise the equipment fully. We must stop giving aid without any programme
or plan that cannot be audited or checked for results.
Driving through Africa
you will find equipment that the tyres still have the small rubber pins as you
find on new tyres on top but now perished and un-useable from weathering
through the years with the basic bodies rusted to pieces only to assume that
another gift with no plan ran out of fuel and was just left to rot. Rural Africa is a continent unlike any other and needs
specialised consideration to assist with empowerment by Aid Agencies or
Development organisations if they intend helping the masses.
Without a “Marshall Plan” that can be
audited and that empower the people at grass-root level, aid is wasted no
matter how well the intentions of the donor country was. Let’s stand together
and make sure that the aid empowers the masses in the rural areas.
CONTACT
For more
information please forward your contact details to
rfaf@terragrader.com and a “Roads for
Africa Foundation” representative will call or e-mail you to discuss and set-up
an appointment.
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