HC Deb 22 November 1962 vol 667 cc151-2W
Mr. Brockway

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what progress has been made with the construction of a railway in Swaziland; to what firms contracts for the construction have been given; what provision has been made for training Swazis for technical tasks during the construction; and how many deaths of Swazi employees have occurred per mile of road construction.

Mr. Sandys

The work is up to schedule. By the end of October 33 miles of bush had been cleared and the equivalent of 14 miles of earthworks was 75 per cent. complete. Work has begun on four rail and two road bridges and on the access to tunnel sites. With the exception of certain specialised equipment, all plant was on the site.

The principal contracts so far awarded are as follows:

construction: R.M.R. Contractors (Swaziland) Ltd.; rails: ISCOR (Iron and Steel Corporation of South Africa); wooden sleepers: various South African firms; fishbolts and nuts: Guest, Keen and Nettlefold Ltd.; soleplates: Round Oak Steelworks; coachscrews: Guest, Keen and Nettlefold Ltd.; insulating fishplates: British General Electric Co. Ltd.; points and crossings: W. M. Bain and Co. (S.A.) Ltd.; signalling equipment: Bellamy and Lambie (Swaziland) Ltd.; communications: British General Electric Co. Ltd.

Sixteen Swazi are being trained on the job as survey assistants, while 52 are employed as drivers and plant operators. Of 768 Swazi employed, 93 are salaried and a further 53 skilled daily paid. The contractors have been urged to keep non-Swazi employment to the minimum by training Swazi.

On the railroad construction, one Swazi employee died as a result of a quarry accident during the first six months of work.

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