New machinery will help pave Komani’s gravel roads
Plans to pave gravel roads leading to schools, clinics and farms are afoot.
Roads and transport MEC Weziwe Tikana announced this at the official unveiling of R100million worth of new plant machinery on Friday in Komani.
She said the option to pave roads instead of gravelling would help deal with the rising costs of maintaining the provincial and municipal roads network.
Currently, she said, taxpayers paid between R900,000 and R1million to resurface 1km of gravel road. But even then, when heavy rains fell, the roads often got washed away.
Tikana said the department would introduce paving because “not only does it cost much less, but local suppliers of raw material like sand also stand to benefit.”
She said hundreds of jobs would be created at local level.
She said the priority would be to focus on roads leading to farms, schools, clinics and hospitals.
The event was also attended by Enoch Mgijima mayor Sisisi Tolashe, O R Tambo District Municipality mayor Nomakhosazana Meth and acting deputy director-general for infrastructure Mzi Mafani.
Tikana said two teams would be dedicated to assisting the troubled Enoch Mgijima municipality, after some of its fleet was auctioned off to pay off a service provider.