Berea __ The Director General Roads Directorate Mr. Teboho Mokhoane has emphasised the need to develop mutual cooperation with contractors for work efficiency and the successes of projects.

Mr Mokhoane made the remarks on Tuesday during their meeting with road contractors staged at Teyateyaneng.

He said they wrap up their three-year strategic plan which kicked off from 2022-2025, which was ambiguous and as a result they managed to complete 70 percent of their planned activities, and they are now working toward achieving that remaining amount.

Mr. Mokhoane added that almost 90 percent of the government budget goes to the contractors, and this is a clear indication that they play a crucial role in the country, hence the initiative to engage them into a meeting with the aim to share their experiences and to iron out some differences.

Additionally, Mr. Mokhoane said the meeting is also meant to share their planned activities and projects scheduled for 2025/2026, highlighting that through working hand in hand with contractor; they will be able to execute such budget and plans respectively.

“Lesotho government has provided M1.7 billion for consultancy services, budget for roads rehabilitation both paved and unpaved, road upgrading, gravel of roads, bridges construction and roads maintenance”, he highlighted.

He also said with the same budget, they want to upgrade the roads to a point whereby they can have some interchanges in the country, particularly at Maputsoe and Hlotse along the A1 Road end to ensure that the road meets the acceptable standard.

On the other hand, Mr. Mokhoane said they want to ensure that wherever they are working, they should leave some access roads to the local, highlighting that at Marakabei to Monontsá they have left an access to the border post and to Seboche hospital.

He also urged the contractors to engage youth whenever they got jobs, especially after the country has declared a state of emergency on high youth unemployment.

On challenges, Roads Directorate Director General highlighted that where contractors are being awarded some projects, they are taking much longer than they are expected, poor management of contracts, citing that contractors vanish on site without even serving a notice.

One of the contractors from WN Letsapo construction, Ms. Mantsoti-Khosi Boliba said as much as they rejoice after being awarded some projects, delayed payment is the challenge which can lead to the collapse of the companies.

Ms. Boliba said with the issue of delayed payments, it always becomes a huge blow to their side as they have some bills to pay, processing of payments of workers and they also have to incur the costs of unplanned risks, therefore they call for the review of their payment system.

One of the youths in the construction industry, Mr. Tankiso Metsing from En blocks Construction and Civil's, said the meeting has been resourceful and informative in regard to client and contractor relations.

Among the issues discussed at the meeting include the categorization and contractor’s assessment, contract, and project management.