The increasing number of dangerous potholes on countless South African roads are not only putting lives at risk and causing damage to vehicles, but are resulting in a number of civil claims against the state following injuries, thus placing a further burden on the public purse. The DA believes the answer is twofold: On the one hand, government should establish a Road Maintenance Fund; on the other, it seriously needs to re-evaluate how it assigns and allocates infrastructure spend, because this problem, which resonates with every South African who uses our roads, is heading towards a tipping point and, unless it is addressed, will pass that point where the cost of repair becomes unmanageable.

A myriad of roads in South Africa's major metropolitan areas, especially Durban and Johannesburg, are riddled with potholes. This is a direct result of the ANC-led government's lax attitude towards effecting repairs to South Africa's road maintenance backlog which currently stands at R38.3-billion.

A case in point involves a former chef who's suing the government for R1.1-million after she lost her hand and part of her forearm in an accident when the taxi she was travelling in hit a pothole in 2005. Instead of repairing this pothole, which would have cost an estimated R500, R5.3-million was instead spent on tarring a road leading to the residence of the current Minister of Transport, Sbu Ndebele then Premier of Kwazulu-Natal.

In response to this lawsuit, the head of the Kwazulu-Natal Transport department, Chris Hlabisa, was quoted as saying that people should stop suing the Transport Department for injuries and damages caused by potholes and instead they should be grateful that they have roads to travel on. Hlabisa's statement is indicative of the disregard of the duty placed on the state to protect the rights of those using South Africa's public roads to dignity, life and security.

South Africa's current road maintenance backlog of R38.3-billion exists, as correctly pointed out by Hlabisa, because "...roads have now exceeded their lifespans of 25 years... we haven't had significant funding towards improving the road network."

The backlog has escalated to this huge amount precisely because the ANC-led government has neglected to carry-out continuous road repairs before the costs of such repairs escalated exponentially. Between 1988 and 1999, the percentage of the road network in good or very good condition fell from 75% to 33%. A more recent report emanating from the AA in November 2008 indicates that about 60% of National or Provincial roads are in a poor or very poor condition compared to about 22% in 1998.

The typical cost of maintaining a road, when maintenance is done timeously, is R100 000 per kilometer. If the road is left for three years, the cost rises to R600 000, and if the road is left for a further five years, it will rise to R1.8 million per kilometer.  A bad road also costs motorists twice as much in time, safety and operational costs as a good one.

Contrary to Hlabisa's assertions that people should stop suing the state for their neglect in carrying out repairs timeously, the fact is that they are indeed correct in doing so. The Constitution places a duty on the state to ensure that reasonable measures are in place to provide for the safety and security of all South Africans, including those using the country's roads. The fact that the ANC-government has neglected to ensure this safety by carrying out continuous repairs on roads constitutes a flouting of this Constitutional imperative and people affected by this must exercise their right to relief.

A dedicated Fund for Road Maintenance must be established to ensure a regular supply of funds to gradually eliminate the R38.3-billion backlog. Funds must be invested from:

• The existing fuel levy, in addition to toll income and other traffic-related income sources, which together currently contribute R26bn to the fiscus annually
• State funding in the form of conditional grants 
• Public Private Partnerships  
• Concessions 
• State-guaranteed money market loans 
• Public works programmes as part of poverty relief and job creation projects
• Vehicle license fees and fines
• International loans

The DA will be writing to the Minister of Transport calling for the establishment of such a fund in order to help eradicate this backlog. Too many South Africans have lost their lives and means to livelihood due to the ANC-government's apparent lax attitude towards repairing the country's deteriorating road network.

Statement issued by Stuart Farrow, MP, Democratic Alliance shadow minister of transport, January 28 2010

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