KwaZulu-Natal - The KwaZulu-Natal government has reacted angrily to accusations that it pumped millions of rand into the Nkandla road network because it was the hometown of President Jacob Zuma, saying millions of rand were being spent across the province to meet massive road infrastructure demand.
This week, the KZN transport department officially launched two major road networks linking the KwaNxamalala home village of Zuma with Kranskop, Nkandla and Eshowe at a cost of R582 million.
The launch followed controversy over the reported R203m upgrade of Zuma’s homestead in KwaNxamalala village, which fed perceptions that Nkandla was being favoured for development over other rural communities. The project, which included two pedestrian bridges built at a cost of R4.5m, has been criticised by opposition parties.
On Wednesday, DA transport spokesman Ian Ollis, said he would ask the public protector to investigate.
But transport MEC Willies Mchunu rejected the notion that the road network had anything to do with the president.
He dismissed attempts to link the project to Zuma saying it was, “a fallacy created by those who are failing to acknowledge the good progress made by government in developing rural communities”.
He said the two roads were built out of necessity to serve as major feeders to the communities and provided shorter routes between Pietermaritzburg, Eshowe and Nkandla, also linking Eshowe, Nkandla and Kranskop.
“The two roads, P15 and P50, were identified long before President Zuma took office and constitute the larger part of a plan by the province to improve… road infrastructure,” said Mchunu, pointing out a number of other multimillion-rand road projects under way.
These included R270m set aside in the current year for construction of roads in the uThungulu District. An estimated R103m had been spent on the construction of the P435 – a 17km road linking Ndumo to iNdumo game park.
Further, said Mchunu, the P711, a 32km road linking KwaMaphumulo, Glendale and Stanger, was being constructed for R180m while the P601, a 46km road linking uMzimkhulu and Franklin, cost R300m.
Mchunu said in Zululand, the P487, a 32km stretch providing decent access to KwaCeza and Thulasizwe hospital, was being constructed for R170m and R900m was being spent on the John Ross Highway to Richards Bay harbour.
“Surely this should illustrate… that our limited budget covers a wide range of places in the province. Clearly the spread of this expenditure and areas identified illustrate that our work has nothing to do with politics or the alleged or imagined perceptions that the Nkandla projects were meant for the president of the country,” said Mchunu. - The Mercury