Failure by the truckload

I had the rare pleasure last weekend of spending time on some of the beautiful roads of eastern Mpumalanga between Belfast, Lydenburg (Mashishing), Sabie, Hazyview and Machadodorp. These roads pass through some of the most gorgeous mountain country one will find in SA.

The experience was only tarnished by a striking example of the extremely expensive consequences of the failures of some of our major state-owned enterprises (SOEs). If Spoornet had been properly managed over the past 20-odd years, the bulk loads (mostly coal and timber) that are being trucked around those areas would have been carried by rail. If the railways were operating efficiently, those trucks — if they were still in use — would not have to use inadequate alternative roads to avoid the heavy toll fees that are levied on the roads the trucks should be using.

If Eskom had been properly operated over the same period there would be no need for the coal that is now being trucked through the area in giant vehicles that all but demolish the roads.

These roads were never designed or constructed to carry such loads in giant trucks, which also disrupt ordinary motor car travel. Just some less obvious examples of the enormous hidden cost to all of us of the failures of our SOEs.

Geoff Mansell Parkwood