The DA in uMngeni today issues an urgent call to the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport (DoT) MEC Siboniso Duma to act immediately on the state of rural roads in the uMngeni area as they continue to threaten matric exams, tourism, health care, businesses, and public safety.
Last year, the DA petitioned and protested at the DoT offices over these failures. Senior DoT management has been repeatedly approached. Residents of uMngeni are being met with a deaf ear.
The DA uMngeni calls for the following immediate actions from MEC Duma:
– An immediate, on-the-ground assessment of all deteriorated rural roads in uMngeni Municipality, with specific attention to Wards 3,4,5 problem areas, to be conducted within 14 days.
– Emergency mitigation works, grading, quarrying, pothole patching and drainage clearing to be mobilised without delay, before rainy season damage becomes irreversible.
– Urgent repainting and safety markings at the hazardous Ward 5 intersection near the retirement village, before a fatal accident occurs.
– A written response from DoT senior management to the concerns raised by the DA.
– A timeline and accountable commitment from MEC Siboniso Duma for contractor performance on outstanding uMngeni road contracts, with clear consequences for non-delivery.
KwaZulu-Natal’s Department of Transport entered this financial year carrying more than R2.6 billion in unpaid contractor invoices a procurement and cash-flow crisis that has stalled road maintenance and rehabilitation across the province. The department itself has acknowledged this. The DA in the KZN Legislature has noted that approximately 57% of KZN’s road network remains in poor condition.
Roads are the arteries of a community. When they fail, everything fails with them children’s futures, family businesses, farms, healthcare access, safety. uMngeni’s residents deserve a Department of Transport that responds.