Q & A VEA ROAD MAINTENANCE AND CIVILS
restoring dignity
Thoko Tshabalala-Shandu, MD of VEA Road Maintenance and Civils, leads a Black women-led construction company transforming South Africa’ s infrastructure. With measurable impact, inclusive growth and lasting community benefits, the firm is redefining what success in road construction truly looks like.
THOKO TSHABALALA-SHANDU
Big tenders and delivery targets are part of the game, but for VEA Roads, what does real success on a project actually look like once the contract is closed?
For us, success is measured by what endures beyond the ribbon cuttings and payment. Delivering a project on time and within budget is expected, but the real story begins after we leave. Each project represents a chance to create something lasting, something that brings dignity back to a community. When we leave a site having upskilled young local workers, empowered SMMEs to operate independently, and restored vital infrastructure that changes how people live, that is what success truly looks like for us. We see it in the mother who can safely walk her child to school along a new road, in the small business that is finally able to access a nearby town, and in the young people who walk away from our sites with newfound confidence and employable skills.
8 SA PROFILE www. saprofilemagazine. co. za