OUR CITY NEWS: R10bn urgently needed to fix Joburg’s crumbling roads
With a R10bn budget and ringfenced financing, the city could overhaul its decaying road network and avoid harming the country’s economic heart, says Johannesburg Roads Agency CEO Zweli Nyathi.
Johannesburg's roads are in dire need of urgent attention, with the city's CEO of the Johannesburg Roads Agency, Zweli Nyathi, calling for R10 billion in capital funding to fix the crumbling infrastructure. The JRA CEO warned that failing roads and bridges could harm public safety and the country's economic heart. The agency's budget for the current financial year is less than a quarter of the required R10 billion, and it faces a massive R144 billion infrastructure backlog.
Nyathi's budget would enable resurfacing 100 roads, repairing between 15 to 20 bridges, and rehabilitating stormwater infrastructure. The old roads infrastructure is between 25 to 50 years old, and the heavy freight congestion on the roads exacerbates the situation. Nyathi also highlighted the need for ring-fenced funding and competent transport field experts, calling for accountability at all levels.
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