MINISTER of Public Works and Transport, Matjato Moteane, says he has made it his life’s mission to implement an ambitious programme of erecting a roads network connecting the country’s highland regions and districts for ease of travel and promotion of tourism.
He says with Prime Minister Sam Matekane’s unwavering support, his ministry has already achieved much, from the Rapid Response Campaign targeting the upgrading of gravel roads across Lesotho, to rebuilding eroded bridges and revamping urban tarred roads.
In an exclusive interview with the Lesotho Times from his Ministry of Public Works and Transport headquarters, Mr Moteane said it was imperative to connect Lesotho’s highlands via a smooth tarred roads network for the promotion of tourism and ease of movement. That further speaks to the requirements of the extended National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) II on connecting the country’s districts, he said.
Below are excerpts from the interview with Lesotho Times political reporter, Mohloai Mpesi:
LT: Thank very much for having us. Since the beginning of 2024 to date, the public has watched government hard at work, repairing roads not only in Maseru but in other districts as well. Please kindly unpack the initiative for us and say which roads have been and will be covered as the campaign continues.
Moteane: We have 6000 kilometres of roads to repair, upgrade or maintain. Of that, about 2000 km is tarred roads while 4000 km comprises gravel roads. The biggest cost comes from tarred roads, either building new roads or maintaining existing ones.
We are trying to repeat a road after every five years. This is a new ambition. If this year we do a road from Machache to Thato-Peli, we will repair it after five years. Meaning we must do about 800km of repairs on gravel roads every year.
The sealed roads don’t need a lot of maintenance. We need to do about 200km of roads every year, returning after 10 years for repairs.
We are doing much better on the tarred roads, much more than on gravel ones. We are currently working on 30 km from ‘Malesaoana, Leribe to Butha-Buthe. We are also doing Marakabei to Monontṧa which is about 70km. There was also the Mpiti-Sehlabathebe Rd (now Makhaola Lerotholi) in Qacha’s Nek, which is about 91km.
LT: What about urban roads?
Moteane: We are going to do repairs on about 50km of roads in town, Maseru to be precise. We are doing roads from the Main circle to the Lesotho Tractors to Masianokeng, then from Masianokeng to Roma.
This year we will complete our plus/minus 200km roads. We already have a strategy in place for next year. Next year we are going to repair southern parts of the country.
There is regular repair of roads. But what we are doing is called pavement strengthening. We do fields that have large layers. It is time to build such big layers because the ones we have now are old and worn out.
We are going to cover 200km in the southern region until we get to Ha-Mosi, on the way to Qacha’s Nek.
We are coming slowly on the repairs of gravel roads. I think we are going to cover about 200km to 300km. We must speed things up. We usually do the roads ourselves as a ministry or hire small contractors.
We tried in Machache where we bought machinery under the revival of our Rapid Response Campaign, whose focus in on upgrading gravel roads to the standards that we want.
In one set we will do about 80km of gravel roads. That means we need to add our sets. We have made a requisition to the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, to do only one set for now. We will add three or four more sets in future.
LT: But most roads in Lesotho need bridges. What plans are in place to build bridges?
Moteane: Thank you for asking that question. It is not possible to travel on some roads because bridges were flooded by the heavy rains, like the Koro-Koro bridge.
Building a new bridge takes time and it is expensive. But the community remains in an inconvenient state while we are still looking for funds. So, we have put in place a prefabricated bridge programme for now as a temporary solution.
When we have enough money to build permanent bridges, we remove and place them where there is existential need for bridges.
We are going to install a new bridge we have just bought in the next two months, at the Koro-Koro River. We are going to remove another one from Tsoelikana, to a river called Lijabatho in ‘Milikane, Qacha’s Nek.
LT: You once said that former Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili covered a larger part in the construction of roads in the highlands during his time in office, leaving a smaller portion for his predecessors including Prime Minister Sam Matekane. Is it possible to complete the remaining portion before the term of office of this government lapses?
Moteane: Yes, it is possible. I hope we can do it. We will give it our best. The remaining roads under the National Sustainable Development Project (NSDP II), whose construction needs to start, include Sehlabathebe to Ha-Makunyapane in Thaba-Tseka. That will make it a good tourism route, especially because we are going to build another road from Thaba-Tseka to Mokhotlong.
Makhaola Lerotholi Highway which reaches Sehlabathebe National Park, will continue as is from the national park to Ha-Makunyapane, Thaba-Tseka. That I must try to do.
Again, we are going to build a road from Matebeng in Qacha’s Nek to Ha-Makunyapane.
We are already hunting for funds for the construction of the 96km road from Thaba-Tseka to Mokhotlong. We are hoping that the Prime Minister will secure the financial assistance we’re looking for when he goes to China. I have confidence that I will complete that one. It would require about M1.8billion. It is going to be a good quality road like Sehlabathebe (Makhaola Lerotholi Highway).
Then we would have done with all the primary routes to be able to connect to all the districts.
Funding of a 51km tarred road from Katse to Thaba-Tseka has already been signed for.
There is need to connect Mohale’s Hoek with Tsoaing and Maseru, bypassing Mafeteng. These are secondary roads that we must do.
There is another important road that should be built because its absence is killing tourism. Imagine if you can see Mohale Dam and Maletsunyane falls all in one journey!
We must build a road from Ha-Seiboko, Marakabei to Ha-Sello, in the pursuit of improving tourism. We are now trying to concentrate on the roads that will connect the country better.
For a long time, there has been this idea of building a road from Phamong to Semonkong, a short piece of road. That means when you are in Quthing, you can easily reach Semonkong. I am hopeful that Ntate Matekane will allow us to take the plunge and implement these ideas.
LT: Are we going to see roads being repaired in towns throughout the country?
Moteane: Yes, these roads are supposed to be maintained by the Road Fund. So, the Road Fund gives us money. It’s just that over time, they haven’t given us enough.
Any national road that goes through a town should be pothole free. Yes, all the roads in Teyateyaneng, Mafeteng Mohale’s Hoek and other districts should be repaired in the next three years.
The problem is that some are damaged because when you don’t repair the roads, that small little hole that you could have fixed becomes a big hole.
The problem with roads in Lesotho, especially the A1 north, is that there is too much traffic. We need to solve that. We are talking to the newly appointed director of the Road Fund, to erect at least three paid tollgates from Maputsoe to Maseru, bypassing Ty.
We also need a toll road from Maseru to the Airport. A new road altogether. We are not sure whether there will be enough traffic from Mafeteng to Maseru. You will see towards the end of this year, when we ask people who develop tollgates to submit their expressions of interest to build tollgates.
We have a study on tollgates that is already underway. We are reviving the feasibility of tolling certain roads in Lesotho. It was done a long time ago. We are just revising it.
You can make a tollgate from Ty to Maseru, paying halfway through. Previous studies should be updated so that we can decide whether it is valid to make them or not.
So, the investor will collect money from the tollgate. Government alone cannot solve these problems. We must play our role as government and leave the rest to the private sector.
LT: What is the budget for all the small and big roads?
Moteane: Last year we had M1.4billion and this year we have the same amount. The problem with last year, is that we did not utilise all our budget.
This year, we want that by November, we should be on the verge of completing this M1.4billion. It’s a lot of work. We are lucky that this year, we started early. I am still not happy that there were delays in starting repairs on the road to the National University of Lesotho (NUL).
LT: I don’t know if you had the opportunity to look at the audit report of the government’s finances for the year ended 31st of March 2022, under usage of donor loans. The reports says that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, utilised only 54 percent of its development loan for that financial period. What happened, why didn’t you use the money for the purpose it was intended?
Moteane: There is a project called Transport Interconnectivity Programme (TICP), which involved building footbridges and other roads, improving the systems, including the system of registering vehicles. The process was slow.
However, when the project ended, the money was finished. So, we pushed in that regard, to some extent. I am glad I don’t have to explain other than this far, because I found it like that.
The same World Bank will tell you that TICP was the best performer in the bucket of all the projects that were being implemented. We tried but I don’t know why. I was not there so I don’t want to lie to the public.
I am going to get some funds from the World Bank, a grant. Let’s wait and see how much of it I will have used by the time the financial year ends.
We have agreed with the World Bank on the funding. I think we will start working on two projects in November. We will start from Thaba-Tseka to Katse, as well as Thaba-Tseka to Mokhotlong.
The small roads are funded by the government while some of the big ones are funded by Lesotho’s development partners.
