North West MEC for Public Works, Roads and Transport, Mahlakeng Mahlakeng declaration of 'War on Potholes' on provincial roads will be launched on Thursday, 22 October 2009 in Ngaka Modiri Molema district, Mafikeng.
The programme seeks to unleash available, though limited, resources within the department "to tackle head-on" the state of decay on some of the provincial roads infested by potholes.
"We must take the lead and be seen to be leading from the frontline ourselves. Talking about potholes and not doing anything to correct the situation will never make potholes disappear from our roads," Mahlakeng said.
He said while there were serious budget pressures on a number of programmes, including the roads projects, "a total neglect" of regular maintenance of some of our roads cannot be allowed.
"We have to arrest the situation and begin to get our hands dirty," Mahlakeng said.
He said campaign launch, was perfectly timed to coincide with Transport Month to ensure the provision of acceptably maintained roads to our communities.
"Obviously in some areas that we will be visiting, this initiative will ensure pothole free roads that will be feeding into major road networks constructed and rehabilitated for the 2010 FIFA World Cup."
For the purpose of the launch of 'War On Potholes' two of the four custom made trucks, Jetpatchers; designed to patch potholes, teams from the pothole rapid response, roads marking and maintenance units will converge on the 16 kilometre stretch of road between Makauspan and Vryhof. The road also services rural communities of Mantsa and Ditshilo and is a key route for communities to the access Gelukspan hospital.
This programme will be rolled-out in the three other districts in coming weeks where roads plagued by potholes have been identified. Mahlakeng also encouraged road users to report potholes to the offices of the department in the district and sub-district offices to be attended to at an early stage.
"Potholes do not develop over night but develop from being potholes to craters over a certain period. It is therefore better and cheaper to deal with them at an early stage rather than leave them unattended to for longer periods," he said.
