Labour-intensive Construction

Skills development and employment generation were among the priority messages delivered during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2020 State of the Nation Address (SONA). Developments within the Expanded Public Works Programme and at Sanral have committed to addressing this via a renewed focus on labour-intensive construction (LIC) techniques. By Professor Robert McCutcheon*

The author is only too aware that this is being published during the midst of the current Covid19 pandemic; however, when it passes, and it will, South Africa will still be confronted by the continued and pressing reality to develop skills and generate employment.

During the SONA, the president was quoted as saying: “We will be piloting an alternative rural roads programme during which four experimental road stretches of 50 km each will be constructed. This initiative will ensure costeffective solutions for the state, meaningful skills transfer and higher potential for labourintensive job creation than conventional roads construction methods.”

These pronouncements are encouraging. However, we have heard variations on these themes many times before. Is this time different? I hope so.

The dire situation regarding unemployment has worsened since 2018. The ‘narrow’ definition of unemployment (those actively looking for

work) has risen to 29%. The ‘broad’ definition, which includes those who have given up looking for work, now stands at 39%. For those aged between 15 and 35, unemployment is over 70%. While the need for exploring ways and means of generating employment is becoming increasingly urgent, it is unreasonable to expect that a small component of activity within 3% to 10 % of the economy can ‘solve’ the unemployment problem. And discontent has increased at the local municipal level, which complicates action on that plane.

Immediate action required In my previous articles for IMIESA, I expressed my continued advocacy of the widespread use of ‘modern labour-intensive methods’ for the construction and maintenance of infrastructure. I provided reasons for my disappointment regarding implementation in South Africa, particularly my reservations concerning the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), which began in 2004. So much for cautionary notes. The president’s policy statements are certainly positive regarding skills development and the LIC potential by comparison with ‘conventional roads construction methods’ (i.e. fuel-powered heavy equipment). At the highest level, there is an understanding of the potential, but this must now be translated into action.

Sanral objectives Sanral is at the forefront of LIC employment generation. In 2017, Sanral released Horizon 2030. It stated that South Africa’s “high unemployment rate exerts pressure on Sanral to maximise the number of jobs created”.

To date, Sanral’s most important action has been the publication, in August 2019, of the Committee Draft Final Revision: Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Works for State Road Authorities. Each chapter contains a section addressing labour enhancement. It is extremely important that Sanral – South Africa’s premier roads authority – has published draft specifications related to the formal use of ‘labour enhanced’ methods across the entire spectrum of its activities. This is a great step forward. In the long term, it will be the bedrock for future expansion of LIC; however, I strongly disagree with the use of the term labour enhancement.

The draft specifications provide definitions for both labour enhancement and labour-intensive approaches. Labour enhancement is the process of improving the scope for the use of manual labour as an alternative to using machines to increase employment opportunities on a project. In turn, labour-intensive processes, to a large extent, exclude the use of machines.

Labour enhancement vs labour intensive definitions I do not understand the essential difference between the two definitions since they both aim to use less ‘machinery’. The latter should be

termed ‘fuel-powered heavy equipment’; a hand pump is a ‘machine’.

I recommend that government bodies use the term labour-intensive, which has been defined and in use in South Africa since the establishment of the National Public Works Programme in 1994. It is the term used in the president’s SONA. It is the term used in legislation and regulation, and, most importantly, in the Ministerial Determination (2002 renewed annually) and subsequently linked, through the Division of Revenue Act (No. 2 of 2013), to the mandatory LIC of certain categories of municipal infrastructure.

It was the term used for most of the detailed research and experimentation into modern LIC and maintenance, which was carried out by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) and the International Labour Organization. Furthermore, as mentioned above, Sanral has committed itself to “maximising job opportunities” (Horizon 2030).

Industry resistance nonsensical Many engineers condemn the consideration of LIC for serious engineering. In a nutshell, they are concerned that employment will be generated at the expense of ‘time, cost and quality’. The underlying lack of knowledge leads to rejection by clients, consultants and contractors.

But, please remember, the fact that Sanral has produced draft specifications for “improving the scope for the use of manual labour as an alternative to using machines” is far more important than my objections regarding terminology.

It will be interesting to see whether the new specifications are used in relation to the projected four experimental road stretches. Other than testing the use of the draft specifications, I consider it unnecessary to use the term ‘experimental’, with all its implications of technical uncertainty and high overhead costs. There is sufficient local knowledge and expertise to use normal procedures regarding planning, design, tender award and construction. Given current dissatisfaction at the local level, there will be much more difficulty with the ‘bun fight’ over the allocation to small/ local contractors and eligibility for employment. In order to preserve the momentum of the president’s intentions, it would be sensible to carry out a complementary lower-profile, but broader approach, which is already contained in Sanral’s Horizon 2030. It emphasises ‘community development’.

EPWP outcomes so far In 2004, South Africa’s government initiated the EPWP. It was one of its strategic responses to the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Between April 2004 and March 2019, the EPWP generated over 1 260 000 years of employment. That amounts to lowering the unemployment rate by about 1.2%. During the EPWP’s first 10 years, labour intensity was only 10% (compared with the planned minimum of 30%). Labour intensity rose to 25% during the Phase 3 (2014/15 to 2018/19). This is a step in the right direction. While not much in national terms, it matters to the individuals who earn an income. For example, some 40 000 people in KwaZuluNatal. Many more people could have been employed if the mandatory conditions regarding the use of discretionary funds had been enforced. People could have done the work executed by heavy equipment.

While the EPWP has been less successful than it should have been, the president’s statements might raise the level of awareness about the potential of LIC. Indeed, the president’s intervention might lead to enforcement of the existing mandatory conditions contained in the Division of Revenue Act. On the grapevine, it has been suggested that there will be more support from the Attorney General regarding enforcement. We will see.

Importantly, the EPWP should have trained thousands of ‘hands-on’ site supervisors by now – the more enterprising of whom might have become independent contractors. They could have been recruited from the hundreds of thousands of matriculants sitting at home and given 18 months of specific LIC NQF 4 level training.

National labour-intensive training centre In this respect, the EPWP is investigating the establishment of a National Labour-intensive Training Centre. This was supposed to have been established during Phase 1 (2004/5

to 2008/9). Better late than never. This

endeavour should make conscious efforts

to complement other SONA statements that

include a fundamental shift in focus towards

more vocational and technical education.

Certainly, the annual SAICE Awards for

community-based projects show that significant

progress has been made on EPWP initiatives. The

Hilton Water Reticulation Replacement (HWRR)

project is a particularly noteworthy example 1

.

Task-based work peaked at 550 from 14 wards, with 80 km of the 89 km done using LIC, which sent R18 million into the local community.

The details regarding training are worthy of attention: 80 local young people were selected. Initial training was facilitated by MTL Training College, funded by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. The HWRR project itself paid each student a stipend of R100 for each day attended. WK Construction took 40 students on to its payroll in order for them to obtain their National Certificate in first-level plumbing and concrete.

Why do I quote this example in such detail? I consider it an excellent example of the type of collaboration between client/ community/professional team and contractor required across the whole range of municipal infrastructure. In many respects, it mirrors the collaborative approach recommended and adopted by my friend and colleague James Croswell at Ilinge in the Eastern Cape during the late 1980s.

In closing, I want to stress that labour employment opportunities are endless, and this extends to include fibre-optic trenching and the evolving way that street collectors are contributing to our circular economy. I invite you to contact me on robert.mccutcheon@hotmail.com to share your thoughts. Together, we can build a much better world.

Reference:

1

SAICE December 2017: 41-42. Client:

uMgungundlovu District Municipality; Professional Team: Naidu Consulting; Subconsultant: JTN Consulting; Main Contractor: WK Construction. The author has no affiliation with any of these parties.

*Robert McCutcheon is a professor emeritus and honorary professor at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand. He works as an employment creation and development specialist at Malani Padayachee and Associates.