DIKGEREKGERE WEDNESDAY IN ACTION: MEC TONNY RACHOENE LEADS FROM THE FRONT AS PUBLIC WORKS RETREAT CHARTS LIMPOPO'S FUTURE
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact
MARULENG — When roads must work, when buildings must stand, when infrastructure must touch every ward — Limpopo turns to one man who has made delivery his identity.
Limpopo MEC for Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure, Tonny Ernest Rachoene — Phakana Hlabirwa — has once again proven why he is regarded as a trailblazer in the 7th Administration.
On Wednesday, MEC Rachoene officially opened the department's high-level three-day Strategic Planning Retreat underway in Maruleng Municipality, Mopani District, bringing together the department's senior management team and the leadership of Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL) to forge one plan, one direction, one Limpopo That Works For All.
This was not a talk shop. This was a war council for delivery.
Addressing the engineers of Limpopo's future, Rachoene delivered a message of discipline, direction and collective responsibility — the very values that have made him the face of Dikgerekere.
"The work of government demands direction, discipline and collective responsibility. As the Department responsible for public works, roads and infrastructure, we occupy a central position in the development agenda of Limpopo. Our work touches the lives of communities in every district, every municipality and every ward of our province," MEC Rachoene said.
That single paragraph explains why Rachoene matters. Public Works is not a department — it is the backbone of the province. Every clinic Dr Phophi Ramathuba visits, every school, every road Premier and Mayor Mpe inspected yesterday in Polokwane City Cluster, passes through this department.
Under MEC Tonny Rachoene, the Phakana Hlabirwa of infrastructure, the department is being rewired for performance:
1. Direction, Not Confusion: The three-day retreat is focused on strategic alignment — ensuring that Department and RAL speak one language, plan one budget, chase one outcome: tar, buildings, and jobs on the ground.
2. Discipline, Not Excuses: Rachoene demanded full participation, discipline and accountability from senior managers. No hiding behind titles. Performance measured by kilometres built, not memos written.
3. Every Ward Matters: His emphasis that infrastructure must touch every district, every municipality and every ward is pure Dikgerekere Wednesday logic — delivery must be felt in Giyani as it is felt in Polokwane, in Musina as in Maruleng.
This is trailblazer leadership. While others manage, Rachoene leads. While others explain failure, he plans success. In a province where the Premier and the Executive Mayor of Polokwane were yesterday on boots-on-tar inspections of 45 projects covering 20km in 60 days — including R521 Dendron Road and the 4km Mankweng Dual Carriageway — Rachoene is ensuring that provincial roads and public works keep pace with that municipal energy.
He understands what The Azanian has been saying: If Polokwane works, Limpopo works. And for Limpopo to work, its roads must work.
That is why this retreat in Maruleng is historic. It is where the blueprint for the next financial year is being drawn — not in boardrooms in Polokwane, but in Mopani, closer to the people.
A Limpopo That Works For All needs builders, not talkers. It needs a MEC who smiles, but does not compromise on delivery.MEC Tonny Phakana Hlabirwa Rachoene is that builder. The work continues.
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