During its presentation to the portfolio committee on roads and transport at the provincial legislature in Bisho recently, the Eastern Cape Department of Roads and Transport announced that during this financial year it would spend R100 million reconstructing the province’s roads. The department’s team, led by MEC for safety, liaison, roads and transport Thobile Mhlahlo, also presented a list of roads earmarked for reconstruction, most of which are in the former Transkei.
According to the department, strategies are in place to provide concrete short-, medium- and long-term solutions to the backlog in maintenance of the rural transport network. The strategies will support the initiatives of the Provincial Growth and Development Plan, the Integrated Plan, and rural communities. Some of the roads to be reconstructed include the Mhlanganisweni, Gangeni, Goli, Jange, Mdubi, Zixambuzi and Luqolweni access roads in the OR Tambo district, and the Luhewini access road and the road to lower Hukuwa JSS in the Chris Hani district. T-306 and 17 to Mvenyane in the Alfred Nzo district and the DR03231 Kloopershoek road in Ukhahlamba district will also be attended to. uring the presentation, Mhlahlo briefed the committee about the Eastern Cape Rural Roads two-day summit, scheduled for 5 June at the Qunu Youth and Heritage Centre near Mthatha. The summit will give the department the opportunity to present its strategy and priorities for the next 10 years. Presently, 5 102km of the province’s roads are surfaced and 38 363km are gravel. The objectives of the summit are to highlight provincial infrastructure challenges and best possible strategies to improve quality. – BuaNews
