Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane has admitted that the province’s roads infrastructure remains a “sore point” for the government.
“We still have a lot of issues,” Mabuyane told journalists on the sidelines of the two-day Premier’s Intergovernmental Forum in East London on Friday.
He also described crime as an “albatross” pushing back against the government’s efforts to restore law and order and attract more investors to the province.
The forum is a platform for monitoring and evaluation at which officials from all spheres of government meet and raise matters of national interest, co-ordinate the alignment of priorities and discuss performance with the aim of enhancing service delivery by aligning the work of the provincial government with that of municipalities.
Disgruntled residents have previously protested over the appalling condition of many roads in the province.
In 2019, services and schools were disrupted in Ngqeleni when protesting villagers demanded a 48km stretch of tarred road be constructed from the R61 in Ntlaza to the Hluleka Nature Reserve.
“We had a couple of roads that should have been done by now, particularly under the province,” Mabuyane said.
“The road we were to do from the N2 [on the Dutywa side], Munyu, Bholothwa, Silityiwa, Clarkbury up until Coghlan [in Ngcobo], that road was litigated and the court judgment has been issued.
“The judge has instructed government to go back for a re-evaluation of that and re-award [the contract] in the next couple of weeks.
“That particular road, as well as Mlamli road in Sterkspruit, which connects Sterkspruit town to the Mlamli hospital and surrounding areas, will also be done.”
He said the 76-bed Mlamli hospital was being underused because the poor state of the road meant patients could not access it.
“We are looking at improving the road infrastructure and the health facility itself ...”
“Our people simply want their lives better. We want water to come out of taps and we are making that clear to every mayor.”
Mabuyane said the province was underfunded and under-compensated for disasters by the national government, which hindered the provision of surfaced roads.
“We are still continuing with projects like Hluleka, Dwesa on other phases that we are surfacing,” he said.
“A lot of projects are [in] the pipeline to ensure that we are able to change the socioeconomic outlook.”
Mabuyane said the province was not “going to go anywhere if the entire ecosystem doesn’t function in a very efficient, in a very optimal way”.
“We need local government to function ...
“We’ve got public protector’s reports which have been pointing at issues of service delivery, we’ve got [SA] Human Rights Commission reports that have also been highlighting [the shortfalls of government].
“We are sitting here discussing all those programmes and strategies to ensure that we respond effectively on those.
“Our people simply want their lives better. We want water to come out of taps and we are making that clear to every mayor.”
He said the provincial government was focusing on small town revitalisation projects.
“This is the most rural province ...These towns which were under Transkei, Ciskei, need a lot of infrastructural support and investment for them to be able to [provide] these kinds of services to our people.”
Mabuyane said the government was stepping up the fight against crime, particularly kidnapping, extortion, murder and sexual violence offences.
He described the crime scourge in the province as a kind of “albatross that we have that is also pushing back as we are moving forward”.
He said: “We are trying to not leave any stone unturned to deal with this issue of extortions and crime in general because the investors we are going all out to lure back here will forever be hesitant to come to in a situation where they feel they are not as safe as they would want to be.
“I’m quite happy as a premier ... with the progress that we are registering every day.
“It’s not going to be done overnight, but it needs all of us.
“I’m quite happy now that we are lifting up [crime] intelligence. This is where we have been limping and it has been a problem.
“Now we are reinforcing that with the kind of intervention we have received and there’s a difference.
“We have been complaining about resources.
“The Eastern Cape needs a minimum of three helicopters, but we can do better with two, particularly to deal with cash-in-transit crimes.
“These are all organised crimes and they need government to up the game and to be much more organised.”
Eastern Cape Business Chamber president Vuyisile Ntlabati agreed with Mabuyane that road infrastructure remained a big negative in the province.
Ntlabati said the business sector was often at the receiving end, with infrastructure woes adding to expenses.
“It’s a sore point, I agree, and its affecting our businesses,” he said.
“Even if the government says there’s a backlog but the current infrastructure is deteriorating because they can’t even maintain ... existing [infrastructure]. That is the main problem.
“It’s a sore point in the sense that sometimes it’s difficult to bring in investors.
“Climate change is adding to an infrastructure that has already collapsed.
“It’s the same in towns and rural areas. It’s expensive to us as a sector because maintenance of cars and insurance [premiums] are expensive.
“It’s causing strain to small businesses and it’s frustrating.
“As we stand, we are in trouble. We need the government to speed up.
“[Poor infrastructure] is contributing to businesses leaving the Eastern Cape and also a deterrent for businesses to come here.”
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