RAL has massive task
ROADS Agency Limpopo's (Ral) chief executive officer, Maseleganye Matji, has reiterated his parastatal's undertaking to improve road networks in the province.
Moyahabo Mabeba
LIMPOPO – ROADS Agency Limpopo’s (Ral) chief executive officer, Maseleganye Matji, has reiterated his parastatal’s undertaking to improve road networks in the province.
According to him, the agency’s road infrastructure network consists of 20 260km out of which about 14 500km are gravel, a backlog he maintained needs to be alleviated as a matter of urgency.
Addressing a high-powered Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) conference in Polokwane recently, Matji said: “As an agency we believe that we are at the heart of socio-economic development in Limpopo”.
Matji was the guest speaker during CESA’s Limpopo presidential visit led by CESA president, Abe Thela.
The gathering was held in Polokwane under the theme: ‘Meeting socio-economic challenges through sustained infrastructure investment’.
“The infrastructure investment required to address the backlog in terms of upgrades amounts to R159 billion (estimated at R11million per km). On the other hand, we need to invest more in the continuous upkeep of our infrastructure. At the heart of our strategy is serving the people of Limpopo with distinction by playing a meaningful and constructive role in terms of delivering quality and sustainable infrastructure,” Matji said.
He urged engineers and other industry players to take their respective roles seriously.
“Members are expected to be partners in the design and delivery of internationally competitive and sustainable road infrastructure to our people. When it comes to the shortage or misplacement of technical skills, we need to accept reality and deal with it. It is quite clear that there is a mismatch between public and private sector capabilities in South Africa. This mismatch should not be exploited as an opportunity for profiteering by the private sector. Capitalising and profiting from lack of technical and planning skills in local government or any sphere of government should be considered a disgraceful act. We should prioritise our country and the protection of its interests. We should learn from models such as Australia. In Australia, the public sector expertise in science and engineering is much stronger than the private sector. This implies that the public sector decides on the type, quality and size of infrastructure that is designed and installed. There is no room for unnecessary over-capitalisation of infrastructure. They are in full control of their assets, including how such assets should be operated and maintained. You and I have a duty to change the way South African public service is,” Matji said.
Outlining institutional challenges in the engineering sector, Thela said their industry was dogged by insufficient project planning, rampant corruption, erratic investment in new infrastructure, lack of investment infrastructure maintenance and poor quality of education.
“Through constructive engagements, CESA will continue to participate in established government or private sector liaison structures. CESA is committed to partner with government and other key roleplayers in finding lasting and practical solutions to these problems, especially in relation to infrastructure development,” Thela said in an attempt to address these challenges.
