Transport Committee Chairperson calls on all spheres of government to intervene in road infrastructure challenges in Kwa-Zulu Natal
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Transport, Mr Mosebenzi Zwane, has called for immediate intervention of all spheres of government in infrastructure challenges that are caused by bad rainy weather in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
Mr Zwane said it was important for the provincial and national governments to immediately intervene and ensure that poor people do not suffer due to damaged roads and houses as these weather conditions are set to be with our lives for a long time.
The committee notes with sadness the damage to people’s homes, road network and other facilities of need like graveyards and internet connectivity infrastructure. Mr Zwane said these kinds of weather-induced challenges require a long-term planning and wise strategies of adaptation.
“The committee is concerned with the damage particularly on the road network in one of South Africa’s economic hubs. Although the country should come to expect the infrastructural damage due to conditions that are symptomatic of climate change, infrastructure damages should be attended to with speed,” said Mr Zwane.
Mr Zwane called on municipalities to get to work speedily to determine areas where urgent help is required, and to assess what that help should be.
“The committee appreciates the work that government and its entities are doing in the transport sector, and the kind of investments involved, but government ought to act with speed and avoid a situation where KZN roads and transport infrastructure damages become an impossible backlog to deal with.”
He said the committee will have a first-hand experience of road infrastructure challenges when it visits the province after Easter weekend. KZN has been gripped by a bad weather spell accompanied by floods that make driving on some roads impossible and very dangerous.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Sibongile Maputi (Mr)
Parliamentary Communication Services
Cell: 081 052 6060
E-mail: smaputi@parliament.gov.za
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