DA Delivers: Most potholes fixed, roads upgraded
Maintaining and upgrading our national and municipal road network is important to all South Africans as it forms the backbone of our transportation infrastructure. A modern road network is not only important for economic growth and development, but is used by millions of ordinary South Africans to travel to work and school on a daily basis.
That is why in Western Cape, the DA government has been working hard to make progress in providing all citizens with a well-maintained road network that can meet the demands of a growing population.
This is evidenced by a reply to a parliamentary question received this week. The reply reveals that in 2014/15 the DA-run City of Cape Town spent more money on road upgrades than any other metro – a total of R3 billion, fifty times more than ANC-run Johannesburg.
Cape Town also repaired more potholes than any other metro - 550 000 square meters in total, 15 times more than Nelson Mandela Bay.
|
Metro |
Total amount spent on major roads upgrades in 2014/15 (R million) |
Square metres of potholes repaired in 2014/15 |
|
City of Cape Town |
3000 |
550 000 |
|
City of JHB |
60 |
91 234 |
|
City of Tshwane |
303 |
75 233 |
|
Nelson Mandela Bay |
66 |
35 234 |
Furthermore, out of 19 DA municipalities polled, 16 of them had a turnaround time of less than a week to repair potholes.
The best turnaround times were recorded by the City of Cape Town and Hantam, who on average repaired potholes in less than 24 hours.
This is in stark contrast to the maintenance of roads in ANC-run Nelson Mandela Bay. According to the Herald, in Uitenhage roads are crumbling, with councillors fed up with Nelson Mandela Bay’s “same lame excuses.” Examples of mismanaged roads include:
- In KwaNobuhle one of the township’s main roads, Ponana Tini Street, there is a giant hole that spans half the road.
- In Magennis Street, a yellow crate has been placed over a giant pothole.
- Further along, the road is so badly scarred with potholes that there is almost no tar left.
In October last year, municipal spokesperson, Mthubanzi Mniki, confirmed the shortage of material to fix the roads as well as the lack of available funding: “We do not have a standing budget for potholes – it is part of our maintenance budget. For now, it is R1.1 million for the entire road network of the metro.”
Once again it is the poorer communities that are suffering disproportionally as a result the ANC’s incompetence and mismanagement.
In the upcoming local government elections the DA will be fighting hard to win metros such as Nelson Mandela Bay, where we seek to extend our brand of accountable governance that cuts corruption and creates jobs.
Wherever we govern we will continue to strive to make progress toward improving the lives of all citizens, providing them with the roads and infrastructure they deserve.
Statement issued by Kevin Mileham MP, DA Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, 20 March 2016
