RAL signs agreement for better roads in Limpopo
Over 20 municipalities, according to Cooperative Governance Deputy Minister Parks Tau, struggle with skills and expertise and are therefore deemed dysfunctional in terms of the building of quality road infrastructure.
POLOKWANE – The Polokwane Municipality is among 10 local municipalities in the province that will benefit from the recently signed memorandum of agreement with Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL), to improve the state of roads in the province.
Over 20 municipalities, according to Cooperative Governance Deputy Minister Parks Tau, struggle with skills and expertise and are therefore deemed dysfunctional in terms of the building of quality road infrastructure.
During a ceremony at The Ranch Resort on Friday, marking the relationship, Tau said such municipalities would receive the necessary support by the end of the next financial year, through the District Development Model mandate.
This comes over a year since the Mayor, John Mpe criticised the agency for the slow pace of infrastructure development, during the municipality’s consultative meeting with traditional leaders over its draft 2023/24 integrated development plan (IDP) and budget planning.
He said this often happens in tribal land and sows discord between municipalities and communities.
Municipalities had urged RAL to transfer ownership of district roads to them, but to no avail. The rationale was that municipalities would be able to maintain the roads through grants from the National Treasury.
Mpe said RAL was over-reliant on consultants, rather than focussing on the actual construction of roads, and added that some district roads that were planned by RAL more than 10 years ago still had not been constructed.
Meanwhile, RAL board chairperson Matome Ralebipi said they have partnered with the private sector to fast-track projects that are still of good quality and to augment the high cost of road infrastructure development.
“More workmanship means fast and good progress. Such strategic partnerships have proven effective in the past because we completed the rehabilitation of roads in the first 12 municipalities we had partnered with,” he explained.
“We have also received positive feedback from road users in those municipalities. Our partnership with the 11 mines in Steelpoort that raised millions for the construction of the steel bridge is a clear example of how important such partnerships can work,” he concluded.
