Luzuko Pongoma and Katlego Moselakgomo
Young female contractors have committed to empowering more young women to venture into construction after being appointed to the Zandspruit de-densification project.
The de-densification project led by the Housing Development Agency (HDA) will create 700 less concentrated houses in the highly populated informal settlement in the north of Johannesburg.
The City of Johannesburg acquired various land parcels to address the housing backlog in Zandspruit. The HDA was appointed to provide water, sewer, roads, and stormwater infrastructure.
In addition, the HDA was appointed to fence off the Zandspruit extension 84 township that is currently under development.
The Zandspruit de-densification project was initially launched as an emergency housing programme as part of the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (UISP). After engagement with the community, the project began in October 2021. It is expected to be completed by end of September 2022.
Andiswa Xozwa (35), Contracts Director of Mentako Amajuda Joint Venture which is appointed for the installation of bulk civil infrastructure services, said this project is a chance for companies to empower more women in the construction sector.
"The project is being driven by a woman who is passionate about the empowerment of women and this becomes an easy task. The project manager, the site engineer, the foreman for water and sanitation, and the safety officer in this project are all women. In terms of the unskilled labour force, women also constitute more than 60%. We also have SMMEs that are women-owned whom we have contracted," she said.
Andiswa is a qualified Quantity Surveyor and Project Manager with broad technical experience and has 14 years' experience in the construction industry in both the public and private sector.
She lauded the agency for appointing a social facilitator who has the responsibility of ensuring stakeholder engagement throughout the project life cycle.
"The social facilitator coordinates our interaction with the local community and other relevant stakeholders. As a company that strongly believes in local empowerment and skills development in communities we work in, we also incorporate our policies to ensure that we meet and hopefully exceed the client's expectations in terms of community participation goals," she added.