Please find a soundbite in English by Freddy Sonakile MPL
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in North West calls for the complete resurfacing of the R504 between Wolmaransstad and Schweizer-Reneke.
This follows a DA oversight inspection of the R504 yesterday. The road is a death-trap for motorists. Large stretches of the road have disintegrated. See photos here, here, and here.
At several points along the road, vehicles must completely veer off the road to continue their journeys. At other points, vehicles are forced to drive in the oncoming traffic lanes. See videos here and here.
At night, the road, without any street lighting, is quite frankly impassable.
The R504 is a major provincial road that connects the agricultural communities of Leeudoringstad, Wolmaransstad, Schweizer-Reneke, and Greater-Taung in the North West with the agricultural hub of Bothaville in the Free State, as well as the iron-ore mining operations in Kuruman, Kathu, and Postmasburg in the Northern Cape.
It is evident from our oversight inspection yesterday, assessing the extent of the disintegration of the R504, that the North West Provincial Department of Public Works and Roads has failed to carry out regular maintenance on the road.
There is now an attempt to fill potholes, but this is a short-term solution. The R504 carries about 10 000 vehicles a month, mostly heavy traffic vehicles of more than 50 tons. Filled potholes only last a few weeks.
The Department of Public Works and Roads only budgeted R380 million towards roads in the North West this financial year. This funding is only sufficient to service about 5 or 6 major roads and pave about 53 km of gravel road.
MEC Oageng Molapisi regularly bemoans a lack of funding, but he has no grounds to stand on since his department last year returned R365 million to National Treasury in unspent infrastructure grant funding.
The Department is unable to spend money on maintaining and rehabilitating roads because, as alleged, the four District Chief Directors of Operations for roads lack the necessary skills and qualifications to do their jobs.
The DA has called for a full-scale provincial skills audit following this revelation. We have also engaged the Provincial and National Treasury to see how funding for roads can be increased, especially for major provincial roads that serve as the arteries of economic activity.
The DA will also propose that the North West Provincial Government coordinate the rehabilitation of the R504 with SANRAL, which is already engaged with the rehabilitation of the national N12 highway in the province.
Poor roads lead to economic decay, unemployment, lack of services, increased prices on goods and services, as well as high maintenance and input costs, which are all barriers preventing economic development.
It is a fact that well-maintained roads not only save lives but also lead to greater economic activity, which is a prerequisite for job creation.