As Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa ascends his new portfolio as the country’s electricity minister, he leaves his old position as head of investment and infrastructure in the office of the Presidency having allocated a mouth-watering R13-billion from the Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) budget to be solely used to fix the crumbling road infrastructure in the North West province, at the request of Premier Bushy Maape.
As part of the province’s 10-year master plan to implement strategic road infrastructure, Maape’s administration tabled the initiative before ISA, then headed by Ramokgopa.
The ISA is housed in the National Department of Public Works and reports to the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission Council, chaired by President Cyril Ramaphosa – who last week promoted Ramokgopa to the new ministry of electricity.
According to the official documents seen by Sunday World, revised in August last year, the North West government would have to spend on average R3.4-billion a year to upgrade and maintain its roads infrastructure. So the ISA funds are crucial.
A total of R34-billion is needed to fix up provincial road infrastructure. The current equitable share allocation is by far lower than what’s needed (rand for rand match) to meet the grant and current commitments.
“This clearly shows that roads infrastructure is not a high priority in the province, which is worrying, noting that roads infrastructure is the primary driver of economic development”.
Maape intended to drive the upgrading of gravel roads to tar. However, the move would require the province to review its funding model for road infrastructure.
The roads master plan outlines a series of activities for the provincial government including upgrades, rehabilitation or reconstruction, and maintenance of the provincial road’s infrastructure network.
“The plan focuses on socioeconomic development, ecotourism and rural access roads. The plan further serves as an instrument used for planning and implementation of roads in the province,” the document read.
The North West province has a big road network that connects major towns, agriculture, tourism, and small business centres.
Besides the province, the road network benefits neighbouring provinces such the Northern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo. There are also corridors of vehicles connecting the province to other neighbouring countries, such as Botswana and Namibia.
According to Maape’s office, the ISA funds will be used for road construction and maintenance in semi-rural parts of the province. This initiative includes 39 road projects, most of which are in rural areas, Maape’s spokesperson Sello Tatai told Sunday World.
Tatai said: “The projects will be labour-intensive, and this will create jobs for locals”. He said the funding was in addition to another R1.3-billion that has been allocated to the province for the 2022/2023 financial year.
The targeted roads include the Nelson Mandela Drive in the provincial capital Mahikeng, for which Maape has allocated an estimated R50-million. R600-million would be reserved for the Phelindaba to Pecanwood Road.
The road project between Majakaneng and Sun City would cost R61-million.
Up to R149-million would be spent on the portion of the road between Haartebeesfontein and Ottosdal.
According to the master plan, “the Department of Public Works and Roads is mindful of the implications of good road asset management and has developed and installed a sophisticated software-based Road Asset Management System, which is continuously updated, upgraded and expanded to meet with current technological developments.”
“The provincial road network is supposed to be a catalyst for development and economic growth. Growth and expansion of economic development require good and safe roads in order to attract potential investors. The North West Province has great potential for economic development and expansion, but the current state of the road network is not aligned with the ideals of growth.”
According to the provincial government, the road network was old and not capable of accommodating current economic demands and traffic challenges.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
