The success of the Vukuzakhe Programme in developing self-sustainable road building contractors.

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Vukuzakhe Contractor Development Programme is a bold initiative of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport aimed at transforming the road infrastructure sector of the construction industry. They strive to develop a new pool of contracting capability by ensuring active involvement of vulnerable groups such as women, the youth, people with disabilities and also cooperatives. The programme seeks to address the developmental challenges facing contractors in the roads infrastructure sector of the construction industry and also looks at the number of management interventions that could be used to address developmental challenges. In order to build a sustainable economic environment in the country, the government is investing in human resources in the form of training and skills development. It is the intention of government to provide opportunities for the historically disadvantaged South African individuals (HDISA) and to openly encourage their active participation in the economy of the country in general and the Province of KwaZulu-Natal in particular. This research focuses on four objectives: the reasons why individuals decided to embark on construction business, the skills of people hired by contractors, the re-investment of profits by contractors back into businesses and to establish if Vukuzakhe contractors have any business opportunities available to them other than those created by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport. What emerged from the study is that The Vukuzakhe programme implemented by the Department of Transport in KwaZulu-Natal is indeed a good initiative that could be replicated by the South African government in other provinces. Under-developed countries could also use the Vukuzakhe programme to address socio-economic challenges that they may experience.