The South African (SANRAL) National Roads Agency on 29 September 2026 briefed the Portfolio Committee on Transport on various programmes, including contractor development programmes and the status of all current road projects.
The committee heard that over 1 000 provincial roads have been handed over to SANRAL since 2023. However, SANRAL Chief Executive Officer Ms Lehlohonolo Memeza advised the committee that no additional government funding was allocated to maintain them. “When roads come to us, they do not come with budget; we have to reassess and reprioritise within what we have.”
Meanwhile, over 500 gravel roads have been handed over in the current financial year, many of them in the Eastern and Northern Cape.
Members had questions for SANRAL on various issues, including procurement, the routine road maintenance (RRM) programme open tender procurement plan and the circumstances surrounding the appointment of a Zimbabwean national as project head for Gauteng. SANRAL has scrapped its centralised contractor panel procurement system and is reverting to individual open tenders for its massive RRM programme.
SANRAL told committee members that the RRM tender project has been challenged in court. SANRAL has adopted a staggered market release system in order to avoid flooding the market and stretching tendering capacity.
The committee also received a detailed briefing on large capital projects, including the N2 Wild Coast, the Msikaba and Mtentu bridges projects, KwaZulu-Natal’s N2 and N3 project, the R573 Moloto Road project, the Huguenot Tunnel, N2 Mpumalanga and N1 South.
The committee also heard that three supply-chain management officials have been fired and that their cases are before the Labour Court.
Members were displeased with the quality of SANRAL’s presentation, saying the details were selective and focused on priority projects, while remaining silent on contractor development. SANRAL committed to providing an updated report and answers to the committee’s questions within 14 days.
The committee Chairperson, Mr Donald Selamolela, said the committee will support SANRAL and advised it to avoid running its business through the courts.
Sibongile Maputi
29 September 2026
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