By REGINALD KANYANE
Action SA said the North West roads are amongst the worst in the country. Action SA Team FixSA Member for Infrastructure, Michael Beaumont said the province has nearly 20 000km of road network and yet less than 6000km is tarred.
Beaumont said that which is tarred, has degraded due to a combination of factors, including insufficient road maintenance and the overuse of heavy vehicles arising from the collapse of the rail network.
“Our visit inspected the old Soutpan Road between Dikube and Moretele, which had been built in 2002 and received no maintenance. The degradation of the road surface has gone down to the level of the base layer, which will now require total road reconstruction.
“Further through the programme, Action SA inspected a stretch of road leading to Ga-Habedi that had been graded and gravel laid in 2009. Community members showed Action SA that in every election since 2009 road signs and stones are placed to deceive the community into believing it is about to be tarred, only to be removed again after the elections without any progress,” he said.
He further said of equal concern are the numerous roads in the province, which reveal a failure of the North West Provincial Government to appoint contractors based on their ability to deliver. Beaumont added that numerous examples are evident of road works that were initiated, millions paid, and projects left incomplete.
“It is evident that the challenges facing the roads backlog in the North West can be addressed. The fact that less than 30% of the North West road network is tarred at this point into our democracy is the true failure of this province. Any government that prioritised the road network and managed public funds appropriately would have much more to show,” he said.
Meanwhile, the acting North West Premier, Nono Maloyi said: “The North West Department of Public Works and Roads has re-sealed a total of 91km of surfaced roads across the province in the 2023/24 Financial Year. The monetary value of these projects is in the region of R400 million.
“One of these projects is the Nelson Mandela Drive through Mahikeng linking Mahikeng to Botswana. The project has been completed and the road was opened to traffic today. In addition to the aforementioned interventions, the department through the support of the Provincial Treasury, ring-fenced R40 million to help address road infrastructure backlogs through patching of potholes in municipalities.”
Maloyi said these municipalities, including Mahikeng where a special campaign was launched by the North West Premier, Bushy Maape to tackle potholes under the theme: “City without Potholes”. He said other municipalities include Ditsobotla, Madibeng, Rustenburg, Naledi, JB Marks and the City of Matlosana.
“The latter required more attention as it has a vast array of residential areas across the KOSH area. Since the national launch of the Vala Zonke Programme in August 2022, the government has made great strides in dealing with potholes across both provincial and municipal roads.
“In April 2024 alone, our internal teams patched a total of 901 potholes, while in the 2023/24 financial year, the province patched a total of 34 329 potholes,” said Maloyi.
TaungDailyNews 