The North West Public Works and Roads Department has called on the private sector to contemplate joining hands with the provincial government to help improve the dilapidating province’s road network.
The Department’s MEC Sempe Elizabeth Mokua told a special broadcast of YOUFM Newshour in Mahikeng on Thursday that most of the roads across the province are still in dire conditions.
‘Since I assumed the responsibility of the MEC of Public works and roads in the province (about 12 months ago) I have been knocking on the offices of the private sector, particularly the mining houses in the province.
So far, I can single out without fear of contraction a mining giant Anglo Platinum has been at the forefront in assisting the department to rebuild two longest roads connecting North West and Limpopo while others are continuously turning a blind eye to the conditions of the roads we are faced with,” said Mokua.
The MEC expressed concern that some of the mining companies contribute to the destruction of the province’s roads that their heavy machinery and trucks use daily.
“There’s a road piercing through Verdwaal and Itsoseng connecting to a mining company, Sephaku Cement mine.
We have done phase one of that road without the mining company’s assistance while it is the same company that uses the road more than the community itself.
We tried to engage the company to partner with us to rebuild the road, but our plea was ignored,” added Mokua
She said that the department will later this month unveil a white and yellow fleet it bought with the assistance of Premier Lazarus Mokgosi.
“The Premier gave us R80 million and as the department we added R20 million to make it R100 million in total.
We used this budget to buy a yellow and white fleet.
These include a collection of government-owned or procured heavy-duty vehicles and machinery, such as graders, excavators, TLBs, tractor loader backhoes, and dump trucks, used to build and maintain public roads.
We have no doubt that this machinery will help improve the conditions of some of the roads while we are budgeting for the roads to be tarred,” explained MEC.
Mokua acknowledged that they are aware of many rural communities that are struggling during rainy seasons with non-trafficable roads.
“Moses Kotane and Moretele Local Municipalities in Bojanala are leading in the province in terms of the roads that are not trafficable when it rains. I know exactly what our communities are going through in those two sub-regions.
“The truth is that those roads are degrading our people, it’s unacceptable,” reiterated Mokua.
She has however called on disgruntled protesting communities to desist from destroying roads, by burning tyres during their protests
“It’s illegal just like it is to burn a school or a clinic, it’s against the law to burn a road.
“We can open a case against communities that burn our roads because roads are state property and must be looked after and not be destroyed deliberately,” pleaded the MEC.
