By Progress Hlahla
The devastation caused by the recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal have reminded us once again of the importance of our national roads to South Africa’s economy. In many ways, the national road network of more than 22 000 kilometres exemplifies the best of South Africa after 28 years of democracy. South Africa’s national roads are known to be among the best in the world.
Roads give us the freedom to connect with loved ones throughout the country. They give us the freedom to transport goods and provisions to different provinces and to neighbouring countries. They give us the ability to achieve the economic freedom we all want. They give us the freedom to have dignity.
At the end of every year and every Easter weekend – as we have seen again this year after the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions – hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of South Africans take to our national roads to visit loved ones who might live in other provinces or even in neighbouring countries.
For many migrant workers, the end of the year is the only times they get to see their families. For many others, the Easter long weekend represents an opportunity for a family to travel to the coast or to another province. The roads give them the freedom to make this possible.
Our national roads not only connect places; more importantly, they connect people. There are always many trucks on South Africa’s national roads, because these roads are often the main economic arteries between towns and provinces and even between South Africa and neighbouring countries, such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and eSwatini. The freedom of our roads means that we can easily transport goods and produce to the biggest and smallest cities and towns in these countries.
At the height of the recent devastating rains in KwaZulu-Natal, many roads were affected and closed, meaning some communities were cut off from access to the outside world. This meant that goods and provisions could not reach those communities.
Even the access to Durban’s harbour was cut off at some point, which cut at the economic heart of this port city. Without access to the harbour, it meant that goods could not enter or leave the city, seriously compromising the city’s economic viability. Durban, after all, is the most important city in South Africa for imports and exports. It is one of the main contributors to the economy of the city and the province.
Addressing the nation a few weeks ago, President Cyril Ramaphosa outlined the extent of the damage caused by the recent floods which have displaced more than 40 000 people and devastated entire communities. He announced that the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (Sanral) would be the lead agency on the extensive work required to repair roads in the province, starting with an immediate focus on the N2 and N3 highways.
Ramaphosa said that detailed work was under way to assess and quantify the damage to roads and bridges and that, around 1 300 road repair projects had been identified by the agencies involved.
Sanral has the important role of upgrading and maintaining our country’s national roads network, which is one of the country’s biggest assets. It does this by building new roads, upgrading and rehabilitating existing roads and, on a continuous basis, maintaining roads throughout the country.
Sanral is a state-owned company, with the Minister of Transport, representing the government, as its only shareholder and it is not allowed to make a profit. This means that the agency has to focus solely on improving and maintaining the roads network in the interests of the country. After all, Sanral is owned by the people of South Africa, with the minister and government acting as a custodian.
Over the next few months, Sanral will be leading the efforts to reconstruct the roads damaged during the recent flooding. It is important to fix our national roads, as well as provincial and local roads, so that normal economic activity can resume, and the affected communities can once again enjoy the freedom of our roads.
We look forward to the support of many stakeholders in the country as this important work gets under way.
* Progress Hlahla is the Northern Regional Manager for Sanral