SPARE US EXCUSES AND FIX SANRAL

IT WAS WITH some disbelief and shock that I waded through the article where the chief executive of Sanral appeared to blame everyone other than himself for the current woes in the South African road building industry.

I have, as an investment analyst, covered the South African construction sector for more than 20 years. Throughout the majority of this period Sanral has stood out as a beacon of efficient, consistent and effective government spending.

Mr Skhumbuzo Macozoma inherited a national road network that was the envy of many countries worldwide.

I was the analyst that, at the recent Raubex investor presentation, asked the management team specifically what was happening at Sanral.

After reading his article I still lack any understanding of the current impasse. Macozoma has failed to explain exactly what the issues are between Sanral and the Treasury and how this organisation functioned for 18 years before his arrival. What has changed? I really cannot accept that he is working “tirelessly” on these issues 18 months later.

While I fully accept that the construction industry woes should not be fully dumped on Sanral’s shoulders, there clearly have been a myriad “own goals” scored by the vast majority of the players. That said, the lack of work coming out of Sanral has directly resulted in a significant number of job losses at all levels, for which he must stand up and assume full responsibility for.

Let’s just hope that once Sanral finally gets its act together we’ll still have a construction industry with the requisite skills, equipment and resources to perform the work to the high standards and cost efficiency that we as South Africans have become accustomed to.

The time for excuses are over, let’s sort this debacle out before our national road network becomes the next state-owned enterprise that is admitted into intensive care! DAVID FRASER

Written in my personal capacity