Motsi studied his diploma at the Lerotholi Polytechnic. Here he gained exposure
on how to integrate civil engineering concepts into the design phase using
AllyCAD. This knowledge was later applied at the Lesotho Ministry of Works where
he worked in the design office.
“After working in the Roads department for two years, I was fortunate enough to
be nominated to study my National Higher Diploma in Civil Engineering in West
London. Here I also received training and was involved in the supervision and
maintenance of various design projects after I graduated,” explains Motsi. He
then returned to the Roads department of the Lesotho Ministry of Works
three years later to put into practice what he had learnt.
According to Motsi, the role of the Chief Technical Officer is varied. “The
Roads department has many in-house projects that are managed internally. These
road projects are fairly straightforward and are usually smaller than 20km in
length. Larger scale projects are outsourced to consulting engineers but are
strictly supervised by us,” explains Motsi.
One of the projects recently completed was the 9.5 km A24 road situated
in the southern part of Lesotho. “We were involved on this project from the very
beginning and commenced with the survey. We got involved with everything from
surveying and geometric design, to drainage and sanitation issues. During the
project, we made good use of AllyCAD's Civil Toolkit and applied the program's
extensive drawing functionality in all our designs. We also enjoyed working with Civil Designer
as we were able to input all the data into the program for fast
output,” says Motsi.
The project required the upgrade of the existing gravel road to a bitumen
standard and included horizontal and vertical realignment. “Although the terrain
was fairly straightforward, there were design challenges that made the project
interesting. We found that we could not walk through certain areas because a few
residential homes crossed the route. This involved compensation and re-location
issues which we had to investigate at great length. The project started in
November 2006 and was successfully completed in April 2007."
Another project which has successfully concluded, was the 500km Maluti access
road to the north of Lesotho. The road provided the main access route to Maluti
Hospital. According to Motsi, the completion of the project has made a huge
difference to the people of Maluti and has ensured smooth flowing traffic ever
since.
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Being routed to the same company ever since he graduated obviously has an allure
which transcends the job. “What I like about my job the most is being able to
provide cost effective solutions to the road rehabilitation, realignment and
upgrading projects in the area. But it goes beyond that, it is being able to
make a difference to the people of Lesotho that I value the most. This in
itself is rewarding,” says Motsi confidently.
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