Photo by: Duane Daws
KwaZulu-Natal's transport department needs R17-billion to tackle the backlog in road maintenance, the Mercury reported on Friday.
The newspaper quoted transport MEC Willies Mchunu as saying that his department's total annual budget of R9-billion was insufficient for the maintenance of the 7 400 km under its jurisdiction.
Mchunu, who was addressing the legislature in Pietermaritzburg, said 80% of the province's roads were deteriorating rapidly as they had exceeded their 25 year lifespan.
"While we fare better than other provinces, our rate of poor roads is 43%, far higher than the global benchmark of less than 10%," he was quoted as saying.