Today in a member’s statement in Parliament, the FF Plus demanded that Minister Fikile Mbalula must keep his recent promise to repair the N12 route in the North West province.
During a visit to Wolmaransstad in March this year, the Minister undertook to take steps to have the N12, which had become nearly inaccessible in places, repaired at once.
He, furthermore, also undertook to visit the town again within a month to monitor the progress with the repair work. However, during a recent visit to the town the FF Plus observed no improvement whatsoever.
In the meantime, the FF Plus also learned that the government only made R45 million available to SANRAL for repairs to the N12.
This amount falls far too short. This important economic artery has over time fallen into such serious disrepair in ANC-controlled towns, like Potchefstroom, Klerksdorp and Wolmaransstad, that extensive repair work is urgently needed.
The North West Premier, Bushy Maape, has also confirmed to the FF Plus that there is an enormous backlog with the maintenance of North West’s road network.
Over the past three years, the provincial government has spent on average R1 billion per year on repairing and maintaining this critical infrastructure.
But at least R7,6 billion must be spent every year to bring about a remarkable improvement in the condition of the province’s roads.
The current budget for road repairs and maintenance comprises just 0,9% per annum of North West’s road network’s value. The norm for such budgets is 8% of the replacement value of the infrastructure assets.
Clearly, urgent and extensive intervention is needed across North West to save the road network from utter ruin.
The FF Plus requested the Minister to do a thorough analysis of the true condition of North West’s road network and to implement sustainable solutions.
The decades of decay under consecutive ANC governments must come to an end.
A province’s economic survival cannot be allowed to be jeopardised by an incompetent ANC government that puts ideology and cadre deployment before the interests of the people of North West.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Michal Groenewald on FF Plus
