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The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the MEC for Public Works and Roads, Johanna Mmule Maluleke, requesting her to extend and prioritise the maintenance and upgrades of roads in Tswaing to ensure the safety of motorists.

The DA is deeply concerned with the conditions of roads in Tswaing that are extremely dilapidated and dangerous to drive on.

Please see photos here, here, and here.

The roads include but are not limited to:

• The roads from Delareyville to Setlagole;
• Delareyville to Kraaipan;
• Delareyville to Ottosdal;
• Delareyville to Schweizer-Reneke;
• Sannieshof to Ottosdal;
• Sannieshof to Mareetsane; and
• Sannieshof to Rostrataville

The roads are extremely dangerous and motorists complain about damage to their vehicles. These roads are also used in emergency cases to reach the nearest large hospitals. In some cases the local farmers have resorted to fixing the potholes themselves. Please see photo here.

The state of gravel roads in between villages such as Atamelang, Vriesgewacht, Kopela, Ganalaagtem Khunwana, Setlagole, Madibogo and Madibogopan is such that when it rains people cannot walk or drive on them.

On 10 May 2018, MEC Maluleke announced that at least eight roads were expected to undergo major upgrading in various parts of the province, with an additional six currently at the tender application stage, and that the department would push to deliver acceptable road infrastructure within the 2018/2019 financial year.

However, only road P152/1 which is Delarayville to Setlagole appears to be one of the eight roads undergoing maintenance and upgrading.

The DA calls on the MEC to extend the upgrades of these roads across the Tswaing area before lives are lost.

With the country currently in a recession, it is also important for the government to prioritise infrastructure development in the form of roads and transport systems to allow an integration of economic goods to be transported easily to grow the local economy.

In order to alleviate poverty, create job opportunities and improve the lives of the people of North West, particularly the lives of the poor, we need to ensure that our infrastructure is well developed and maintained to allow economic participation and create jobs. The DA is the only party that is committed to this and building one South Africa for all.

Issued by DA