MMILENG ISSUE 1 OF 2020 WELCOME TO OUR ROAD NETWORK THOBELA FM SEBASA MOGALE MOLETJIE MAKGOFE, TEACHING & SKEEM SAAM LIMPOPO TO BENEFIT FROM MASEMOLA’S DIAMONDS EXPERIENCE IN THE ROUGH S TAT E • MINING INDABA • DE BEERS VENETIA MINE OF THE • MUSINA - MAKHADO SEZ PROVINCE ROADS, WATER & JOBS • COVID-19 & ECONOMY • SENWABARWANA PEACE + PATIENCE = ROAD WHEN PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE WITH ROADS AGENCY LIMPOPO BIG INTERVIEW PROJECT MANAGER Contributing to socio economic development by connecting the people of LIMPOPO PROVINCE. Providing quality and sustainable provincial road infrastructure network for the economic development of LIMPOPO PROVINCE. Contents Issue 1 of 2020 NOTE FROM BIG INTERVIEW PERSONALITIES THE EDITOR 12 Mbokodo Woman in 20 Mogale, Jack of all 2 Ditau tša Hloka Seboka Engineering Trades di Šitwa le ke Nare e Hlotša STRATEGIC RAL AT WORK PARTNERSHIPS FROM THE 24 Virtues of Patience CEO’S DESK 16 Private Sector Rewarded in Confidence in the Senwabarwana 4 Difficult Tradeoffs as Agency’s Business Economies Seek to Practices Rise SMMES Balance Recovery and EMPOWERMENT 32 RAL and Musina Service Delivery Makhado SEZ Synergy Boost to Economic 28 The Key to Long-Term STATE OF THE Sustainability of any PROVINCE Development in Limpopo Small Business ADDRESS STAKEHOLDER INSIDE RAL 6 Limpopo Premier ENGAGEMENTS COVER STORY on Roads, Water & 34 Roads Agency Mmileng Issue 1 of 2020 Unemployment Limpopo Perks Up Its 19 #RALatWork Social Cover Star is upgraded Communications and 9 SOPA in Numbers Media: Complaints road D1468 in the PR Strategy and Compliments Blouberg Local SHAREHOLDER Municipality of Limpopo 30 Vox Pop: Mintirho ENGAGEMENTS Ya Vulavula Province. The road was completed on time and 11 Limpopo to Benefit within budget. Story on from Masemola’s Page 24. Experience Mmileng Issue 1 of 2020 1 Note from the Editor DITAU TŠA HLOKA SEBOKA DI ŠITWA LE KE NARE E HLOTŠA f you are a regular reader of Mmileng, the spread of this virus include social distancing, official quarterly corporate publication good hygiene, self isolation and quarantine. for Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL), We have spread this message across the you’ll notice that a few regular features magazine in five of South Africa’s 11 official Iof your favourite read, such as RAL at Work languages that are most commonly used in ‘Completed Projects’ and ‘Insights’ op-ed Limpopo Province. column, are missing in this edition. You can also add the South African The country, and indeed the world, is government’s Coronavirus WhatsApp number currently faced with a national health 060 012 3456 and the World Health emergency that needs our united assault after Organization (WHO) Coronavirus WhatsApp an outbreak of a new respiratory disease called line +41 79 893 1892 as contacts on your Covid-19. smartphone. To activate the conversation The Covid-19 pandemic, caused by the (chatbot), all you simply have to do is send the Coronavirus, has already struck a blow to message “Hi” to any or both of these numbers. economies, including struggling economies You can get the WhatsApp messaging such as ours, which has just recently tanked application for free on Google Play and free into a technical recession. This will make download on Apple iStore app stores for recovery longer and difficult, but not mobile devices operating the Android and iOS impossible, once the dust has settled. operating systems respectively. These crises make bold plans made by There is a 24-hour national Coronavirus Honourable Premier of Limpopo Province, hotline 0800 029 999, free from a Telkom Chupu Stanley Mathabatha in the 2020 State landline. There are also other hotlines, for of the Province Address to give mouth-to- example for healthcare professionals. mouth to priority challenges of water delivery, We hope by the time Mmileng returns in a road infrastructure and unemployment form of the next edition, the spread of this MR MAROPENG difficult but, again, not impossible. monstrous virus would have been arrested, so MANYATHELA, We are encouraged by the proverb that is that we grow South Africa and Limpopo RAL’s Head of Communications succinctly put in Sesotho sa Leboa (Northern together. Sotho), Ditau tša hloka seboka di šitwa le ke If you are a new reader, welcome to the only nare e hlotša, that loosely translated means publication that will give you authoritative, even the ferocious kings of the jungle, lions, informative and insightful up-to-date news on will find it impossible to bring down a wounded the work of the Agency to plan, design, buffalo if not united as a pride in tackling this construct, maintain, control and manage road beast. This socio-economic health crisis infrastructure in Limpopo Province. We trust requires all hands on deck. you’ll stick with us for an unforeseeable future. We have indeed temporarily suspended We have expanded both our physical and some regular pages, to assist in amplifying and digital distribution channels so, more than giving reach to government’s efforts to spread ever, Mmileng should be easy to find. the messages on how to protect ourselves from We are also reviewing our content mix and the Coronavirus infections and what symptoms design, which should unleash freshness in the to look out for if you suspect you may have next edition. been exposed. Also, what you can do to curb In the meantime, please feel free to tuck in. the spread, including seeking medical Our menu is stimulating as always. assistance if you are compromised. Approved and recommended measures to prevent the Together for better roads! 2 Mmileng Issue 1 of 2020 We Connect LIMPOPO... Today Limpopo boasts a modern road infrastructure because we are creating and designing modern bridges and roads, making transportation of people and goods reliable and opening access to the rest of Africa. Making it all happen... From the CEO’s Desk DIFFICULT TRADEOFFS AS ECONOMIES SEEK TO BALANCE RECOVERY AND SERVICE DELIVERY he 2019/20 Financial Year was a require the support of strategic partners from daunting year in the life of Roads the private sector to ensure that it delivers on Agency Limpopo (RAL). The the road infrastructure demands required for organisation went through a lot in economic development and growth. Tterms of service delivery challenges. Currently, the Agency is responsible for a RAL has, for the last several months, been road network of 19 000 km, 61% of which is under severe pressure and one could say under unpaved. siege from the road infrastructure service We, together with all the Limpopo delivery protests. Our communities have been municipalities, have recently concluded the displaying their displeasure through service road reprioritisation process. delivery protests. We had a number of The purpose of the road prioritisation interruptions from communities visiting RAL process was to identify unpaved priority roads offices demanding their road infrastructure which are currently unfunded and not in the plights to be addressed. implementation plans of RAL. It is indeed a sad chapter in South Africa as The prioritisation considered factors such as the country is battling a lot of eventualities, previous political commitments, incomplete including dipping into a technical recession and (Bermuda) roads, political hotspots, the need the novel Covid-19 pandemic, a disease caused for roads that facilitate access to key social by the Coronavirus. The fact that the country services such as clinics, schools and hospitals was recently downgraded by rating agencies in etc., and areas of economic activity. the middle of this health crisis has rubbed salt Out of a total of 13 818 km backlog of into the wound. unpaved roads, a total of 3 793 was prioritised South Africa, like many other African by district municipalities. These will require countries, is also battling the high levels of approximately R37bn to address. MR GABRIEL youth unemployment, poverty and widening Community protests around the issues of MALULEKE, income disparities. At the rate at which the road infrastructure continue to pose a major RAL Chief Executive Officer economy is growing, there is no doubt that the challenge to the execution of RAL’s mandate. five years ahead will be the toughest in history. RAL is inundated with calls for better roads The recently concluded and approved daily. Almost every protest that erupts is about strategic plan should serve as a guiding tool for or has an impact on road infrastructure. RAL RAL to not only address its mandate efficiently and the Limpopo Department of Public Works, but also assist in dealing with the above Roads and Infrastructure will continue to challenges in the country for the next five years, engage communities to facilitate community- 2020-2025. based planning and implementation thus We are confident that based on RAL’s reducing politicising of road infrastructure delivery record for the past five years, its project development. mandate will be carried for the next five years, Whilst in the past great effort was invested in albeit with limited resources at its disposal. stabilising RAL’s financial management In our blueprint, the role played by industries environment, our next task will remain to such as mining, agriculture, tourism and lately gear RAL towards obtaining and sustaining a the establishment of a Special Economic Zone clean audit. (SEZ) are considered important to the economic Our overarching goal, however, is to build development of the province. safe, accessible, reliable and affordable roads. The growth and development of these key I am optimistic that with the right mix of industries in the province is dependent on the commitment, teamwork and an adequate well-developed road network, which is the support system from our stakeholders, this goal responsibility of RAL. RAL will therefore is realisable. 4 Mmileng Issue 1 of 2020 State of the Province Address The Premier of Limpopo Province Chupu Stanley Mathabatha delivering the 2020 Limpopo State of the Province Address (Sopa).