(Note to Editors: The following debate was delivered during a Sitting of the KZN Legislature held today)
Transport is not simply about roads, buses and licences. It is about opportunity. It is about whether a child can get safely to school, a farmer can move produce to market, whether tourists choose KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) over another province, whether businesses invest, and ultimately whether our economy grows.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) therefore approaches this budget with a balanced perspective. We acknowledge the difficult fiscal environment in which every provincial department now operates.
The Budget
KZN’s Department of Transport (DoT) has experienced reductions in conditional grant allocations, particularly within the Provincial Roads Maintenance Grant and the Public Transport Operations Grant, while equitable share growth remains largely inflationary. These financial pressures are real and cannot be ignored.
However, budget constraints cannot become an excuse for poor governance, weak planning, delayed implementation or a lack of accountability. KZN’s people do not judge government by the size of its budget. They judge it by road conditions, whether buses or ambulances arrive and whether potholes are repaired before they become craters. It is against that standard that this budget must be measured.
The department presents a total budget of approximately R13.94 billion for 2026/27. Almost two-thirds – over R9.2 billion – is allocated to Transport Infrastructure. This is appropriate because infrastructure remains the backbone of economic development.
Strategic Vision
The DoT’s strategic vision is commendable. It speaks about becoming “A Gateway for Smart Mobility”, creating a safe, resilient and integrated transport system that supports economic growth and social inclusion. The DA supports these objectives. But visions do not repair roads. Mission statements do not reduce road fatalities. PowerPoint presentations do not create jobs. Only implementation does.
Road Maintenance
The department acknowledges that approximately 57% of KZN’s road network remains in poor to very poor condition, with a target of reducing this to 45% over five years. That means that today, more than half of our provincial roads are failing.
This is not merely an engineering problem. It is an economic crisis. Poor roads increase business transport costs, damage vehicles, delay emergency services, discourage tourism, isolate rural communities, increase food prices and reduce investor confidence. Road maintenance is therefore not expenditure. It is investment.
Road Fatalities
The DoT also aims to reduce road fatalities from 1 907 deaths to 1 494 over the strategic period. The DA supports this objective wholeheartedly but reducing fatalities requires more than enforcement. It requires safer roads, proper signage, visible road markings, functioning guardrails, proper stormwater drainage, adequate lighting and regular maintenance. These are not luxuries. They are lifesaving interventions.
Performance Management
The DoT’s presentations see an acknowledgement of the realities it faces;
• They admit that budget reductions forced them to reduce performance indicators
• They acknowledge that several transport indicators were removed due to insufficient funding to implement them
• They openly state that road infrastructure became the priority.
This honesty is welcome. But it raises an important question. If performance indicators disappear because projects cannot be funded, how is accountability ensured? Reducing what we measure does not solve the underlying problem. Instead, government should strengthen performance management. The DA believes that every kilometre promised should be publicly tracked. Every contractor should be monitored, every delayed project should have a published recovery plan and every deviation from budget should be explained openly.
DoT Delivery
The DoT’s actual delivery during 2025/26, presents a mixed picture.
Overall, it planned to complete 1 080 kilometres of betterment and regravelling, yet achieved approximately 1 015 kilometres, falling short by about 65 kilometres. Some regions performed exceptionally well. The Empangeni and Ladysmith regions exceeded targets and those officials deserve recognition. However, both the Pietermaritzburg and Durban Region significantly unperformed, failing to meet overall targets. The DA believes that accountability should work both ways. Success should be rewarded. Failure must have consequences.
The Ugu district deserves particular attention. The DoT targeted almost 59 kilometres of regravelling but delivered only around 23 kilometres – a shortfall of more than 36 kilometres, one of the largest deficits in the province. As someone who understands the challenges facing communities in the South Coast, this is deeply concerning.
Project Schedules
This is another recurring concern. Several projects remain incomplete because of contractor failures, social unrest or procurement delays. Other projects have been delayed due to community disputes or postponed because procurement processes remain outstanding. This demonstrates that the challenge is not always funding, sometimes it is project management, contract administration and sometimes it is governance.
Tourism and our Roads
KZN remains one of South Africa’s premier destinations, yet our tourism economy depends on roads that visitors are willing to drive on. The DoT has presented a comprehensive programme identifying roads leading to key KZN tourism attractions. This is encouraging because it recognises that tourism infrastructure is economic infrastructure.
The DA welcomes maintenance taking place on important tourism corridors in the Midlands, Southern Drakensberg, Kokstad, the South Coast and northern KZN. Projects such as the rehabilitation of sections of P601, ongoing maintenance on the Midlands Meander routes, improvements to Bushman’s Nek Road and continued work on routes serving Drakensberg tourism demonstrate that the department understands the economic value of maintaining tourism access.
Regrettably, many presentations contain phrases such as “ongoing maintenance, contractor not on site due to non-payment, works delayed, awaiting procurement approval and social issues to be resolved”. The problem is that tourists do not travel on intentions. Businesses cannot operate on promises. Communities cannot use roads that exist only in project schedules.
Road Asset Management Maturity
The DA believes that maintenance planning must evolve from reactive maintenance to preventative asset management. This is exactly why the Department’s new Road Asset Management Maturity target is important. However, the department aims to achieve only Level 3 maturity over five years. The DA believes KZN should aspire higher. International best practice uses digital road condition surveys, predictive maintenance modelling, GIS mapping, drone inspections and performance-based maintenance contracts. Technology already exists. The challenge is implementation.
Contractor Management
Another area requiring attention is contractor management. Throughout presentations we see projects delayed because contractors abandon sites, contractors fail quality inspections, contractors experience procurement delays or contractors are suspended due to poor performance.
The DA therefore proposes stronger contractor performance management. Contractors should be assessed not only on price but on previous delivery, quality standards and completion rates. Repeat poor performers should not continue receiving public contracts. Likewise, contractors who consistently deliver quality projects on time should receive recognition through transparent procurement scoring.
Road Safety
Road safety deserves particular attention. The DoT aims to reduce road fatalities from 1 907 to 1 494 during the strategic period. This is an ambitious target and achieving it requires a comprehensive approach. Road safety is not only about law enforcement. It is also about engineering, proper road markings, visible signage, guardrails, pedestrian facilities, street lighting, regular grass cutting, proper drainage, safe intersections and well-maintained shoulders. Road safety begins long before a traffic officer issues a fine.
The DA believes that road safety audits should become mandatory on all provincial roads with high accident rates. Data must drive interventions. We cannot continue treating every road the same when accident hotspots are clearly identifiable.
Public Transport
This is another area that requires renewed focus. The DoT receives more than R1.5billion through the Public Transport Operations Grant to subsidise bus operators. This investment is vital. Reliable public transport is essential for workers, students and vulnerable communities. However, the DA believes that public transport subsidies must increasingly be linked to measurable service outcomes. Communities deserve reliable schedules.
Governance
The DoT also deserves recognition for placing emphasis on governance. Its objective of achieving a clean audit, strengthening procurement planning, improving digital transformation, reducing vacancies and strengthening financial controls is commendable.
The DA fully supports good governance but it cannot end at compliance. Compliance should produce better services. Citizens do not celebrate clean audits if potholes remain unrepaired. Likewise, infrastructure delivery cannot come at the expense of accountability.
Unlocking economic growth
The DoT own figures reveal that more than 25,800 kilometres of KZN’s road network remain gravel roads – almost three quarters of the provincial road network. This reality presents both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is maintaining such an extensive network with limited funding. The opportunity lies in prioritising roads that unlock economic growth.
The DA’s approach includes the following;
• Introduce transparent provincial infrastructure dashboards where every major road project is publicly available online with budgets, milestones, expenditure and completion dates
• Strengthen preventative maintenance by allocating greater resources to preserving roads before rehabilitation becomes necessary
• Implement stricter contractor performance management, ensuring poor performers are excluded from future contracts while rewarding those who consistently deliver quality work
• Accelerate digital road asset management through modern condition monitoring technology, enabling data-driven maintenance planning
• Improve intergovernmental coordination so that provincial roads, municipal roads and tourism infrastructure are planned together rather than in isolation
• Ensure that every infrastructure project creates sustainable local employment while maintaining strict quality standards
• Finally, we would insist on measurable accountability. Government must be able to explain precisely what has been delivered.
The DoT has outlined an ambitious vision. Now it must deliver. As a partner within KZN’s Government of Provincial Unity (GPU), the DA stands ready to support every initiative that improves governance, accelerates infrastructure delivery, creates jobs and grows our provincial economy. But we will equally continue holding this department accountable for every promise made and every commitment contained within this budget.