image: News24
The provincial administration of KwaZulu-Natal requires R6.5 billion to repair roads and bridges destroyed by floods in April.
MEC for Transport Peggy Nkonyeni, on the other hand, claims that the province has not yet received the necessary funding from the national government, and that the province is rebuilding damaged roads with its own finances.
Following the April floods, Nkonyeni and Premier Sihle Zikalala revealed a R86-million initiative to reconstruct the P725 road in Umbumbulu, south of Durban, and upgrade it to a tar road.
“Because certain roads are extremely deteriorated, reconstruction may take more than six months in some cases.” For example, when we engaged with SANRAL about your N2 road, they told us that it could take up to a year to restore it. Following that, we conducted assessments and submitted them to the National Disaster Management Centre. According to our calculations, that amount of money is required to rebuild our roads. As a result, we’re still waiting for the national disaster management center’s answer. “At the moment, there has never been any allocation,” Nkonyeni explains.
The P725 road connects Umbumbulu’s rural area with areas such as Isipingo and Umlazi in Durban’s south. The gravel road’s state was exacerbated by the recent rains, which resulted in massive potholes.
Premier Zikalala claims that the government would take steps to ensure that contractors provide good value for money and that the project is completed on schedule.
“This route is one of the most significant in connecting Umbumbulu settlements with places closer to town. Rural residents, like those in townships and suburbs, are entitled to the same services and standards. We’d like to be emphatic. One of the flaws we’ve noticed is that, in most cases, we’ll start building roads but, for whatever reason, the projects will not be completed, and we’ll put in place strict monitoring mechanisms to address this.”
The village of Umbumbulu has praised the road’s restoration and upgrading.
“We are overjoyed since when I first moved to this neighborhood, I was perplexed as to why this road was dirt and dusty while other areas had tar roads.” But now, I am overjoyed that this road will be tarred, and motorists will finally be able to drive on a pleasant road with less vehicle repairs.”
“This road was further damaged as a result of the recent floods, resulting in large potholes.” Now our neighborhood will get a quality road that will benefit both public transportation and us as road users.”
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