“Roads are coming. It’s just a question of when.” Premier in Limpopo Sopa
The Honourable Premier of Limpopo Province Chupu Stanley Mathabatha, opening the Sixth Provincial Legislature, focused on a plan of action for youth unemployment, and the perennial service delivery concerns such as water and sanitation, housing, and road infrastructure for the relatively sparse and rural province.
In his most recent State of the Province Address (SOPA), earlier this year (Mmileng, First Quarter Edition 2019) ahead of the May 2019 National and Provincial Elections, the Premier focused on the overarching ‘reporting on the work done in the last five years’ of the fifth provincial administration.
Evoking calls of a ‘new dawn’, the Premier was quick to point out that they are moving from ‘an era of policy development to radical policy implementation’, as he communicated a detailed programme of action on service delivery, not only for the 2019/2020 financial year but for the next five-year term, of the sixth provincial administration.
“The new dawn is about building a province that we all want, a province we can all be proud of, and indeed (a province) we all deserve,” said Honourable Mathabatha, in the first SOPA of the sixth administration.
He said the provincial government will introduce new and innovative programmes to stimulate the provincial economy, including a decision to place
young people at the centre of economic development.
He committed to directing 20% of state procurement to enterprises owned by young people, a further 20% to women-owned enterprises and 7% will go to businesses owned by people living with disabilities.
“The state procurement will form the thrust and base of performance contract we will sign with MECs,” he proclaimed, in an effort to curb the current provincial unemployment rate that rose from 16.6% to 18.5% from the last quarter of 2018.
Young people are also set to benefit from the large chuck of over 21 000 projected jobs that will be created by the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The soon to be implemented SEZ has recently appointed Rob Tooley, the former MEC for Limpopo Department of Provincial Treasury, as its chairperson with respected business leader Matome Ralebipi, Roads Agency Limpopo’s very own board chairperson as his deputy.
On road infrastructure, the premier repeated the ‘pleading’ tone from the February 2019 Limpopo SOPA.
He said, notwithstanding the work done in reducing the road infrastructure backlog in the province over the past 25 years, “lack of proper roads in other parts of the province, especially rural areas, continues to be a cause for (great) concern”.
“We want to plead with our people. We want to build you roads but we cannot do that at the same time,” said the Premier Mathabatha, as he asked for patience from communities.
He said for the current 2019/2020 financial year, RAL will complete and deliver on 114 kilometres of road network, upgraded from gravel to tar, at the cost of R1, 064 billion in various parts of the province.
Some of those roads to be completed this financial year as announced in the previous SOPA (February 2019) are:
• D1468 from Senwabarwana to Mareis to Ga-Machaba to Marobjane to Indermark in the Capricorn District Municipality.
• D4200 from Jane Furse to Madibong to Marulaneng to Ga-Maila to Mphanama in the Sekhukhune District Municipality.
• P277/1 from Vhurivhuri to Makuya to Mbuyuni to Guyuni to Maludzhawela to Sanari to Mutele to Masisi in the Vhembe District Municipality.
RAL SOC Ltd is the road infrastructure implementing agent for the Limpopo Provincial Government under the auspices of the Department of Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure.
Thus, in terms of section 25(1) of its act of establishment (“the RAL Act”), RAL is vested, within the framework of government policy, with the power to perform all strategic planning with regard to the provincial roads system, as well as the planning, design,
construction, operation, management, control maintenance and rehabilitation of provincial roads for the province, and is responsible for the financing of all those functions, in accordance with its business and financial plan, so as to ensure that government’s goals and policy objectives concerning provincial roads are achieved.
“There is no doubt that our people deserve quality roads. Roads are coming. It’s just a question of when,” reiterated Hon Mathabatha. “Tšwelopele e swana le mollo wa hlaga, le lena e tla le fihlela
(progress is like wild fire, it will reach you eventually),” he said quoting the spirit of former leader of Lebowa bantustan homeland, the late Dr CN (Cedric) Phatudi.
The Limpopo SOPA had returned to its spiritual home, the Lebowakgomo Legislative Chambers, in a cost-cutting move estimated to be just over R500 000, described as a no-brainer for the start of the sixth term address. The previous Limpopo SOPA had been hosted at the more central and bigger Jack Botes Hall in Polokwane.
He further revisited the context of road infrastructure backlog in Limpopo Province inherited as far back as before 1994, but he said the recent three lost years, during the period 2012 to 2015, when various provincial departments, including then RAL parent department of the Department of Roads and Transport, were placed under section 100 administration of the constitution by national government, did not help.
The Hon Mathabatha said R3 billion has been set aside over the next MTEF (Medium-Term Expenditure Framework) period for upgrading and maintenance of road infrastructure across the province.
“Infrastructure is the backbone of economic development, and it is in this context that we have put socio-economic infrastructure development high on the agenda of this government.”
“TŠWELOPELE E SWANA LE MOLLO WA HLAGA, LE LENA E TLA LE FIHLELA.”