Government Concerned by Destructive Protests as it Tables Infrastructure Budget
The Limpopo Provincial Government is concerned by the surge of the destructive protests in the province, with road infrastructure often always caught in the crossfire of this new trend of community advocacy. Communities are urged to refrain from these protest tactics that only “sets back the infrastructure development agenda and steals from the strides we have made as a province”.
This call was most recently made by the Honourable Premier of Limpopo Province Chupu Stanley Mathabatha in the recent Limpopo State of the Province Address when opening the Sixth Provincial Legislature (See page 6), and lately reiterated by the MEC for Limpopo Department of Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure, Honourable Monicca Mochadi, tabling the department’s 2019/2020 budget.
“Almost every protest that erupts is about roads or has an impact
“AS A CUSTODIAN OF PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE, I HUMBLY PLEAD WITH ALL CITIZENS TO PROTECT GOVERNMENT PROPERTY AND TAKE PRIDE IN IT.”
on roads infrastructure. When communities go on the streets to protest against what they term “non -service delivery”, they burn our surfaced roads and other social infrastructure,” said MEC Mochadi.
“This should not be allowed to continue and we call upon all civil structures to assist us in communicating this message.”
Ms Mochadi is one of the nine Members of the Executive Council (MEC) who were recently appointed (May 2019) by the Premier Mathabatha..
“One infrastructure need that our people have raised countless times and made me hit the ground running is the one for roads infrastructure. The department’s social media platforms are inundated with calls for better roads on a daily basis,” reflects MEC Mochadi.
The Hon Mochadi says destroying existing government infrastructure of any form to register a grievance is “a criminal act and a non-progressive move”.
“These acts costs government money it does not have, it sets back the infrastructure development agenda, it steals from the strides we have made as a province, and it disadvantages the users of such existing infrastructure, who are the same community members,” said the MEC.
She says her plea comes in the context of heightened demands for tarred roads amidst budgetary constraints.
“We cannot afford to move three steps forward and take five steps backward; we will never make it as a province. As a custodian of provincial government infrastructure, I humbly plead with all citizens of the province to protect government property and take pride in it. Setshaba a re rateng, re babaleleng thoto le diphahlo tše tša setšaba. Ke bohwa bja rena le bana ba rena,” said Hon Mochadi, calling on the people of Limpopo to appreciate the work done in the past 25 years of democracy in relation to delivering surfaced road network in the province.
Ms Mochadi says, particularly, since the Department of Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure was reconfigured after return from administration (2011-2014) in terms of Section 100 of the Constitution, the department through its flagship implementing agency, Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL), managed to deliver 74 road infrastructure projects between 2014/15 and
2018/19 financial years.
Those projects comprise of 45 maintenance projects, 17 road infrastructure upgrades, from gravel to tar, and 12 flood damaged projects including reconstruction of washed away bridges.
As the department is entering its second term since reconfiguration, this sixth provincial administration, the MEC has noted the need to address intensifying demands for roads amidst recent successes in road infrastructure service delivery.
“In light of the demands, the department through its implementing agency, Road Agency Limpopo (RAL) commenced with a process of consulting each local and district municipality on their respective roads’ infrastructure needs,” says MEC Mochadi.
“This exercise is expected to inform a development of a comprehensive provincial priority list, which will guide how and when roads infrastructure projects will be implemented.”
The MEC says the process of consultating with municipalities has already been concluded. See, Inside RAL, page 13.
“Local municipalities have submitted to their district municipalities for consolidation and soon we will have a provincial priority list that will be shared with
“SETSHABA A RE RATENG, RE BABALELENG THOTO LE DIPHAHLO TŠE TŠA SETŠABA KE BOHWA BJA RENA LE BANA BA RENA.”
members of the public.”
By current calculations, we need R23.6 billion to tar 2 365 kms as per needs and priorities of the five district municipalities of Limpopo province out of a total of 13 801 kms of gravel or unpaved road network. See page 13.
In her budget speech, the MEC also broke down the R3.6 billion, as allocated to her department by the Limpopo Department of Provincial Treasury, across the department’s four main programmes.
The department’s main programme, the Road Infrastructure Programme will get R2.3billion, of which R1.4 billion - a far cry from R23.66 billion as per municipalities’ needs - is transferred to Roads Agency Limpopo for operational costs, and upgrading and maintenance of roads.
The MEC also announced that an allocation of R1.2 billion has been made for conditional grants to be shared between the department and RAL.
RAL will need R160 billion to upgrade and maintain the entire 20 091 kilometre road network in Limpopo, of which only 6 290 km is tarred and 13 801 km is gravel.
The rest of the programmes of the Department of Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure are allocated as follows; R849 million goes to Infrastructure Operations, while Expanded Public Works Programmes (EPWP) gets R45 million and the balance of R400 million is for Administration.
This budget, underlined the Honourable MEC Mochadi, “is to serve the people of Limpopo and further ensure that we surpass the 95.48% average of paying service providers within 30 days, which has been recorded in the past 5 years.”
“In the same breath, we call upon these service providers to honour their contractual obligations and deliver quality infrastructure, goods and services within the agreed period,” concluded MEC Mochadi.