Sanral’s boss offers E Cape engineering students internships

SANRAL’s CEO Nazir Alli yesterday offered internships to Eastern Cape engineering students while urging them to climb into the development debate around the proposed N2 Wild Coast toll road.

In a public lecture yesterday to more than 200 eager Walter Sisulu University engineering and technology diploma students, Alli criticised “misguided” Wild Coast toll road objectors claiming they were not from local communities.

He also used the moment to announce a platter of road-building projects for the province.

WSU deputy vice chancellor Sandile Songca said the university and Sanral were busy putting together a package of bursaries and internships.

Alli said that already 180 engineering students had internships with Sanral, and although their first pay would not afford them a Mercedes-Benz, “as your career prospers you will get one”.

In a press release yesterday, Alli stated that a new partnership with the Eastern Cape had unlocked R2.2-billion worth of roadworks comprising 32 projects this financial year.

Sanral’s southern region this week released data showing that 23% (1 070km) of the Eastern Cape national roads were being upgraded, rehabilitated and preserved.

Six projects were on the go on the N2, N6, R61, R63, R65 and R67 in the current financial year, which included spending R750million on maintaining 600km of national roads; R372-million on “special maintenance” of 208km; R460-million on rehabilitating 122km of national roads and R648million for “special upgrading projects on 140km of national road”.

Attorney Cormac Cullinan, who is representing coastal communities in the path of the proposed toll road, questioned Sanral’s failure “to engage with those most affected by its project, whether in Gauteng, the Wild Coast or Cape Town. Communities do not believe that a high-speed, limited access toll road, that will bisect communities and require the relocation of many people and graves, will benefit them.

“It is not the kind of ‘development’ that they want particularly since it will make it easier and cheaper for the mining companies to mine the coast, which the Amadiba Crisis Committee has been fighting for years.”

He said Sanral had responded asking the court to prevent Cullinan & Associates from representing these communities. The case will be heard in the Pretoria High Court on October 6. —