CLARIFICATIONS: MUSEKWA ROAD

In Mmileng Issue 3 of 2020 (page 32), we reported that the Minister for the Department of Transport Honourable Fikile Mbalula made an announcement on behalf of national government on the proposed upgrade extension, from gravel to tarred surface, of road D3671 (Musekwa Road) from the village of Musekwa pass Divhani to Maranikhwe in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province. Hon Mbalula was in fact not present at the event to mark the official road handover and opening of road D3671 in Musekwa.

Available information unfortunately changed under embargo, and the plan for the 3 kilometres upgrade extension was also put on hold after going to print. The second phase can now only be realised as soon as funding is made available.

Notwithstanding, the official road handover and opening of the 3.36km rehabilitation and upgrade of road D3671 (first phase) that started approximately 11km from the intersection with road P278/1 (R523) at Tshituni ending just before Musekwa Thusong Service Centre – a community centre in Musekwa, was ably conducted by the Deputy Minister for the Department of Transport Hon Dikeledi Magadzi on Sunday, 18 October 2020 (Transport Month). The project was successfully completed by Roads Agency Limpopo at the end of August 2020.

We apologise, to all affected, for lack of clarity.

Sincerely,

Maropeng Manyathela, Editor: Mmileng

The year 2020 will go down in the annals of history as a year that challenged humanity in ways unimagined in recent history. With coronavirus wreaking havoc and disrupting economies across the world, RAL was also deeply affected.

With our national economy already on the back foot, the Covid-19 pandemic made operational conditions extremely difficult for RAL. As a company we had to contend with having to completely reconfigure our way of working to ensure that our internal and external stakeholders alike were protected from infection. Throughout all these changes, RAL has continued to display incredible levels of resilience and a can-do spirit, thus enabling our company to get back to work quickly when lockdown conditions were eased.

The leadership, commitment and cooperation that I have received from the shareholder, represented by Honourable Namane Dickson Masemola, have been heartening and has enabled me, together with the executive, management and staff of RAL to achieve significant progress in these trying times.

Let me also take the time to appreciate the sacrifices, ingenuity and determination of RAL staff, without whom we could not have achieved anything.

The year 2020 has seen us achieve some significant milestones as we further transform to perform our role as an important cog in the economy of our province. Highlights of these include the launch of our business strategy, tweaking our brand identity to align it better with our brand positioning, finetuning our stakeholder approach, as well as signing a number of strategic partnerships with partners across the province.

I would like to take some time to say a few words specifically about the recently signed Memorandum of Agreement for the rehabilitation of the existing bridge and construction of the new Steelpoort Bridge on road D2219. This type of partnership, wherein multiple stakeholders come together to enable RAL to carry out its critical mandate, are indicative of the type of approach that I believe will serve us well as a State-Owned Company given the budgetary constraints we currently face.

Furthermore, I would also like to convey the extended enjoyed relationship with ZZ2 on their continued faith in the organisation to ensure corporate and government ties are efficient and effective to serving the people of Limpopo.

Lastly, I acknowledge the commendable efforts made by the Limpopo Legislature Portfolio Committee on Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure led by Hon Makoma Makhurupetje on various project site visits and confidence in the state of the organisation.

Perhaps this is a good time to implore all RAL stakeholders, as we go into 2021, to continuously think of new, innovative ways of approaching our tasks given the difficult operating conditions. This is also applicable to our personal lives because this pandemic is likely to be with us for a while.

For those who fell ill, or indeed those who have loved ones who succumbed to this disease, I would like to express my most sincere condolences. The Department of Health has reported a worrying “second wave” spike in Covid-19 infections, making it even more imperative to exercise extreme care and adhere to stringent safety protocols during this period.

Thank you to the great audience of our stakeholders, I look forward to sharing more insightful statements about the organisation and seeing you all in good health in 2021.