17 Sep 2023

The Minister of Transport and Public Works, Mr Eric Molale, has said the Rakhuna junction to Mabule road and its access roads will open up opportunities and social developments in the district. 

Mr Molale was speaking during the signing ceremony of the project between his ministry and Steel Base Construction company at Kgoro in Good Hope/Mabule on Thursday. 

The project, which is valued at P456 million, covers a distance of 145.45kms and access roads of 29.03km. Access roads include the 12 kilometre Gathwane–Good Hope road, which passes through Kgoro. 

Mr Molale said the road would connect communities and settlements while at the same time providing access to production areas. 

He said the ministry introduced the signing of contracts in a transparent manner to ensure that communities have a sense of ownership and also for contractors to know that they were accountable to communities. 

The move would ensure that there was less corruption which in most cases delayed projects while at the same time ensured that contractors do not do a shoddy jobs. 

He also said the move would ensure community involvement, which was in line with his ministry’s objective of high performance culture and improving stakeholder engagement. 

He said it also encouraged local empowerment which was in line with one of the pillars of Vision 2036, which aspired to attain prosperity for all, adding that it also ensured continuous appraisal on project progress. For his part, Steel Base Construction representative, Mr Ziyaad Kader, promised to deliver a quality project on time. 

He said they would try all in their power to ensure that they delivered the project, which was expected to start in three weeks time within budget while adhering to the highest standards of professionalism. 

Mr Kader said all the communities where the project was going to pass would benefit from employment opportunities while his company also looks to support the local business community. 

Earlier on when welcoming guests on behalf of Kgosi Lotlaamoreng II of Barolong, Kgosi Botiki Motshegare, asked all the stakeholders to be wary of corrupt practices. 

He shared the same sentiments with Minister Molale that corruption has in the past delayed projects implementation while at the same time costing the government a lot of money. 

Kgosi Motshegare advised the community to report any corrupt practices, saying without their input, the government alone will never win the war against such acts. BOPA