Meet the team responsible for your experience on SANRAL roads in the North West

Shortly after his appointment as SANRAL’s Northern Region Manager, Progress Hlahla said that part of his plan to lead the region was to accelerate transformation, while bringing in the best engineering talent to help build, upgrade and maintain South Africa’s roads.

This led to the appointment of Tsakane Mathebula, Design and Construction Manager, and Madoda Mthembu, Operations and Maintenance Manager, both for the Northern Region. We caught up with them to discuss their roles and responsibilities.

Madoda Mthembu – Operations and Maintenance Manager
Madoda Mthembu is a Professional Engineer (Pr Eng) who holds a BSc in Engineering, and an MSc (MOTI) in Project Management

WHAT DOES YOUR ROLE ENTAIL?
Along with a team of talented project managers, I manage the general operations and maintenance of SANRAL roads in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West. We ensure that the entire SANRAL Northern Region road network is maintained through

activities such as pothole repairs, grass cutting, road sign maintenance and many others. We also ensure that there is no encroachment on the roads (illegal structures, illegal accesses, etc) and make sure that all of our freeways are adequately lit. It is our job to ensure that roads are safe during and after road incidents through our Road Incident Management System.

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE.
I have been a public servant since the beginning of my career, having worked at the Gauteng department of roads and transport, and then seconded to a consulting engineering firm to gain design experience. I then worked with SANRAL’s Routine Road Maintenance department for over 10 years.

WHICH PROJECT YOU ARE MOST PROUD OF?
I worked on the resurfacing of national road R36 from the Limpopo/ Mpumalanga boundary to the R36/R529 intersection south of Tzaneen and also the Nkomazi roads. Both projects were delivered on time and within budget, with a very high level of quality. I am also particularly proud of the upgrade of the Heidelberg Traffic Control Centre, which comprised the construction of two vehicle testing station buildings, the construction of the ultra-thin continuously reinforced concrete screener lanes and the strengthening of provincial road R23 with a continuously reinforced concrete pavement and weigh-in-motion scales.

SANRAL IS IN THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING ITS TRANSFORMATION POLICY, WHICH REQUIRES THAT ANYONE WHO DOES BUSINESS WITH SANRAL ENSURES THAT MORE BLACK PEOPLE, WOMEN AND YOUTH ENTREPRENEURS’ BENEFIT. WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON THIS?
It’s a good initiative. Long overdue, actually. As officials, we needed something that would empower us to transform the construction industry. We need to make sure that it works – that it has an actual impact on local communities and SMMEs. We can’t empower only a few; it must change the lives of as many people as possible.

Tsakane Mathebula – Design and Construction Manager
Tsakane is a Professional Engineer (Pr Eng), who holds a BEng Civil Engineering, a BEng Honours in Structural Engineering, and an MEng Management

WHAT DOES THE ROLE ENTAIL?
The Design and Construction Manager’s role is to integrate all components pertaining to the implementation of conventional projects, with the assistance of project managers and subject matter experts. This include development, refurbishment and upgrade projects.

WHAT’S YOUR PLAN FOR THE ROLE?
The game plan is to gain understanding of the region and SANRAL’s processes, procedures and policies and to have a clear definition of the business model on project implementation. At the moment, my aim is to highlight what we do well, list issues and identify potential risks. Then to use the output of this process to formulate a workable framework with the assistance of the team. The aim is to lessen the impact of delays, claims and budget overruns, while empowering communities in our project areas. The objective is to improve efficiencies in implementing conventional road projects for a better South Africa.

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE?
I love building things, so much that I would put together house projects for my brother – which included mechanics that made living in them easier for disabled individuals. I have worked as an engineer for 16 years. Before joining SANRAL, I worked for Eskom Generation (Kriel Power Station), SSI, Murray & Roberts and the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority.

WHICH PROJECT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?
My work on the Gautrain project as a pre-stressing engineer. I worked on the entire route (north and south link on overpass and underpass bridges) and on tensioning the balanced cantilever bridges in Centurion, crossing the N1 and N14 highways.

SANRAL IS IN THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING ITS TRANSFORMATION POLICY, WHICH REQUIRES THAT ANYONE WHO DOES BUSINESS WITH SANRAL ENSURES THAT MORE BLACK PEOPLE, WOMEN AND YOUTH ENTREPRENEURS BENEFIT. WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON THIS?
There is a need for this policy. My hope is that it will provide skills that will empower people. As SANRAL, we want it to be sustainable. It should be more than just a once-off project. Sustainability is key.

Taking SANRAL to Rustenburg – Boosting the local economy

Communities in and around Rustenburg are set to benefit from upcoming road construction projects. This was the view expressed by Mr Themba Mhambi, SANRAL Board Chairman at a ‘Taking SANRAL to the People’ stakeholder engagement in Rustenburg.

Attended by local government and businesspeople, the initiative took place with the aim to address matters of concern raised by the municipality. It also informed members of the community who attended about the opportunities available to them.

“It is our intention that small, micro, medium, youth- and women-owned enterprises, people with disabilities and military veterans take part in our projects, especially our routine road maintenance and community development work packages.”

Guided by its corporate strategy and transformation policy, SANRAL is mindful of the developmental role that it plays to emerging contractors and the transformation of the construction industry. “The days of there being only a few construction companies capable of taking on large projects is coming to an end.

Instead of hearing about the ‘big five’ construction companies, we would like to hear about the ‘big fifty’,” Mr Mhambi said.

According to Mr Mhambi, the North West Province is of great significance to SANRAL as the lead agency of the Strategic Infrastructure Project – SIP 4 – which focuses specifically on the North West. This further emphasises the importance of the road network as the backbone of all infrastructure development and service delivery to towns, villages and communities across South Africa.