Only 8% of South African roads in an optimal state of repair

A reply to a Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary question has revealed that only 8% or 5 303 km of the 64 346 km of the entire South African road network is in an optimal state. This represents a staggering fall from 1988, where 75% of the network was in an optimal state of repair. This reply suggests that within a few short years, there will not be a single road in South Africa in very good condition.

Between 1988 and 1999 it was estimated that the percentage of the road network in a good or very good condition fell from 75% to 33%. Between 1999 and 2008 this fell to a meagre 8%.

Leading the pack with the worst roads is Kwazulu-Natal with 84.3% or 5689 km out of 6749 km in fair, poor and very poor condition and only 96 km are in very good condition. Second is Mpumalanga where 72.2% or 3574 km out 4952 km are in a state of disrepair.

The fact that only 8% of the road network is in an optimal state of repair is problematic for a number of reasons.

The most immediate consequences is that poor road conditions endanger the lives of all commuters - the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) recently revealed that poor road maintenance caused 1 694 deaths and cost R10-billion per annum in the last four years.

In the longer term, poor road infrastructure has devastating consequences for South Africa's economic growth. A recent study by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) revealed that bad roads have a negative effect on logistics costs, especially as trucks have to travel far distances from the economic hub of Gauteng to the ports. Logistics costs in South Africa have already reached R317-billion, or 15,9% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2007, which is a 1% increase compared with the 14,9% recorded in 2006, and the 15,2% in 2005.

Furthermore, without an efficient road network, South Africans are constrained in their ability to move across the country, take opportunities and start businesses.

The solution to the deterioration on South African roads is quite simple - the establishment of a dedicated fund for the specific purpose of road maintenance - a move that the DA has been calling for, for many years. The Minister of Transport, Sbu Ndebele, has been quoted in the media as saying that allocations from the fiscus could be "ring fenced" for the dedicated purpose of road maintenance. While this commitment is not a clear cut indication that the Minister will be asking Treasury for a specific amount of money from provincial budgets for road maintenance, it is a welcome recognition that there needs to be a change to the current system.

However, Minister Ndebele's assertions so far remain empty promises ‘to look into the matter'. Clear and decisive assurances from the Department on whether the fund will be established is necessary. Too many lives have been lost and economic growth has been stunted as a result of poor road maintenance, and the rapid downhill plunge in road quality demands an urgent response.

 Statement issued by Manny de Freitas, MP, Democratic Alliance deputy shadow minister of transport, March 31 2010

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