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SANRAL can’t simply blame the construction mafia for the state of R75

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Dear Editor

The South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) has come out with guns blazing, blaming a dangerous and decaying R75 between Gqeberha and Kariega squarely on the construction mafia in Nelson Mandela Bay.

While the DA accepts that criminal syndicates often target infrastructure projects in a bid to extort money from contractors, this situation is not unique to NMB, and it certainly does not justify why SANRAL abandoned its duty to maintain one of the key national transportation routes in the Metro.

The real reasons why SANRAL has neglected its responsibilities regarding maintenance and repairs on the R75 are twofold.

  • Firstly, SANRAL has previously acknowledged that they encountered specific procurement problems.
  • Secondly, they have delayed the work, no doubt in the hope that the planned Freeway Management System would have already been in place.

SANRAL has, therefore, knowingly neglected to maintain this route, thereby putting the lives of NMB motorists at risk.

When I personally engaged with SANRAL’s regional management in 2022 and 2023, I made it very clear that routine maintenance of the R75, like that of any other national road, is non-negotiable.

Insofar as upgrading unregulated intersections was concerned, various solutions to secure traffic signalling, such as the solutions that the metro was implementing on Stanford Road at the time, were pointed out.

The fact remains that SANRAL has done nothing since 2022 to secure and maintain this route. Now, they are passing the buck because the public is demanding answers.

The DA is in the process of obtaining all the statistics regarding the number of accidents and fatalities on the R75 since the beginning of the year.

Although we will work with SANRAL to devise solutions to any problems they may encounter in fulfilling their functions, we will not allow them to continue abandoning their responsibility towards their infrastructure and the residents of NMB.

Regards

Retief Odendaal MPL
DA PE Southwest and Winterhoek Constituency Leader

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