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The Pothole Province

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DA calls for action against residents who destroy our road network

Dear MyPE

The Democratic Alliance (DA) condemns the destruction of property in the strongest term.

The Eastern Cape is well known as the “pothole province”. A contributing factor is the actions of residents on the N6 between Stutterheim and East London, who are destroying the road network to show their frustration.

The DA is calling on all Law Enforcement Agencies to act swiftly to bring these perpetrators to book. The DA is of the firm view that there are other ways in which to express one’s dissatisfaction or disagreement.

Collaboration with various stakeholders should be the order of the day, and destruction of infrastructure should not be an option.

This province is in dire need of a good road network so that our economy may thrive and our residents enjoy freedom of movement. These ideals are currently hampered by the outright destruction of infrastructure and damage to private property.

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic the destruction of a national road impedes the free movement of emergency vehicles carrying patients to and from hospitals. This may result in individuals losing their lives.

For these reasons, the DA condemns the actions of these individuals in the strongest possible terms.

The sluggish response from the Department of Roads and Transport is one of the contributing factors to the inferior road network in our province. Clearly road maintenance is not a high priority.

As the Department of Roads and Transport seems incapable of maintaining our road network, I will continue to advocate the idea of the establishment of a public-private partnership, enabling the Department to deliver much needed services.

Previous committee reports have revealed that the road maintenance backlog is estimated at R102 billion. With a current budget of only R6 billion for the entire fiscal year, it would take more than two decades for the department just to maintain the current backlog, never mind address the problem of malicious damage done to our roads by angry residents, as happened yesterday, 22 September 2020.

Ironically, the Eastern Cape Province is the province with the biggest budget for the construction of new roads. The DA will continue to fight for a well-maintained road network, allowing freedom of movement to the citizens of this province and an opportunity for our economy to thrive

Regards

Marshall von Buchenroder, MPL
DA Shadow MEC for Roads and Transport

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Port Elizabethan

This author is a 'catch-all' for occasional articles and letters written to MyPE. The Author of each article can be found in the signature at the bottom of each individual article.