Following its successful participation at the 2018 Investing in African Mining Indaba, the Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL) hosted a stakeholder engagement and fundraising session with the Sekhukhune district municipality mining industry last month, at Lapeng Guest Lodge, in Burgersfort, Limpopo.

The RAL is mandated to manage, control, plan, develop and maintain the provincial road network on behalf of the Limpopo provincial government. Its road asset portfolio measures about 20 260 km.

The session was meant to foster further engagement between stakeholders, presenting opportunities that would benefit the RAL, as well as Limpopo mines and communities. “It is . . . important that we join hands in ensuring that this and other future relationship-building sessions . . . become a success,” noted RAL CEO Maselaganye Matji.

The RAL has reaped some of the benefits of a resourceful association with the mining industry.

In 2015, the then RAL board and executive management of the agency, led by chairperson Matome Ralebipi and Matji, adopted a strategic partnership approach as part of the agency’s turnaround strategy.

Through this approach, the RAL has targeted and continues to target the establishment of partnerships with private-sector entities that are relevant or benefiting from the Limpopo provincial road infrastructure network to augment the RAL’s constrained budgetary and financial resources for the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of Limpopo roads.

These partnerships include the RAL and the private sector cofunding key strategic road infrastructure projects in Limpopo. The mining sector, particularly, has been the flagship of this approach.
Since adopting this strategic partnership approach, the RAL has raised more than R380-million and continues to secure more partnerships. It is targeting R100-million for the current financial year. According to Matji, the RAL also wants to strengthen ties with existing partners, hence its recent attendance at the Mining Indaba, and its drive to host more stakeholder engagement events.