Cape Town - The appointment of new South African National Road Agency (Sanral) CEO Skhumbuzo Macozoma comes at a crucial time when the agency is in the process of implementing some of its major projects, Minister of Transport Dipuo Peters said on Monday.
Examples of these important projects include the building of the N2 Wild Coast Highway and upgrading the N3 - the busiest road freight corridor in SA, she said.
Peters said she has confidence Macozoma will ensure that Sanral fulfils its mandate to manage SA’s road infrastructure, while also incorporating good governance.
“Without good national roads the economy would choke," she said.
In her view, Macozoma is a "well-resourced person" to guide Sanral. As a professional engineer with a "wealth of knowledge in the engineering sector", Peters expects him to be welcomed within the broader engineering sector, the construction industry and the investor community.
She said Macozoma brings "strong professional credentials and an impressive track record of leadership and service in the industry".
READ:Cape toll defeat: Sanral to mull new path
Sanral's board also expressed its confidence in Macozoma's ability to lead the agency into what it deems to be "a new era of growth and an expanded mandate to manage SA’s road infrastructure".
Board chair Roshan Morar emphasised that the pace and direction of SA’s economic growth is dependent on the quality of its infrastructure. He said Sanral plays a leading role to ensure SA’s road network is "well-managed and in excellent shape".
Sanral recently received an unqualified audit report for the 13th consecutive year. The agency manages a total national road network of almost 22 000km covering all nine provinces.
Macozoma is replacing Nazir Alli, who is retiring after serving as CEO since its establishment in 1998.
Macozoma holds a BSc (Civil Engineering) and an MSc in the same field. He was the chief officer: transport and logistics of the 2010 Fifa World Cup local organising committee from 2008 to 2010 and served as a transport manager on the same committee from 2007 to 2008. Prior to that, he was chief director: integrated infrastructure network development in the National Department of Transport and worked as a project manager and research engineer for the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) from 1993 to 2002.
He also served as the managing director of the Johannesburg Roads Agency. He is currently the CEO of the Electronic Tolling Company, and has in the past served as a non-executive director of Sanral.
Peters expressed her gratitude towards Alli for his contribution "towards the building of a world-class national road network".
ALSO READ: Sanral runs up R177m advertising bill
Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter: Fin24’s top storie