[ad_1]
Motorists did not mince their words in telling the Eastern Cape MEC for Transport Xolile Nqatha of their frustration about the state of roads in some parts of the province.
Eastern Cape MEC for Transport Xolile Nqatha engages taxi driver Mpumelelo Mkhusane during a roadblock on the R61 in Nomlacu Village, near Bizana. Picture: Supplied
BIZANA – Motorists did not mince their words in telling the Eastern Cape MEC for Transport Xolile Nqatha of their frustration about the state of roads in some parts of the province.
Nqatha was conducting a roadblock on the R61 outside Bizana, near the KwaZulu-Natal border on Friday. Unhappy motorists told him how the roads in the province were costing them.
Taxi driver Mpumelelo Mkhusane told Nqatha that his wish was for the provincial government to fast track the fixing of potholes.
“The road between eMagusheni (in Bizana) and Post St Johns needs urgent attention. The road poses a huge danger to the road users. If you can see to it that the road is fixed soon, we would really appreciate it,” he said.
Another motorist Ntokozo Khambule said it was unfair that they were fined for not having permits while the delays were caused by the failure of the provincial government to issue them timeously.
“We are fined for failing to produce permits and yet when we visit traffic department offices, we experience delays. Our business is on the road, we don’t have time to spend at the traffic department the whole day,” lamented Khambule.
In response, Nqatha said the department was working with Sanral and the national department of Transport to address the issue of potholes.
Nqatha said the department has also opened several centres across the province to reduce the waiting period for permits.
“The recent centre we opened is a state-of-the-art centre in Bhisho for operating licences, disc renewals, and the payment of tickets,” he said.
Nqatha said the department had identified other areas where they would open similar centres.
Acting deputy director general Zanemvula Ngovela said the department had planned to increase its annual budget for fixing potholes, currently at R50 million.
As the festive season is just around the corner, Nqatha said, the department has already started to roll out programmes of awareness campaigns to ensure that people obey the rules of the road.
Nqatha also urged pedestrians to be more vigilant.
He said at least 20 people lost their lives on the roads on the weekend of Heritage Day. “ The majority of them were pedestrians. We are calling upon our communities to keep safe and ensure that they obey the rules of the road,” he said.
Story courtesy of Keith Ngesi Media.
[ad_2]
Source link
