Question NW273 to the Minister of Transport
19 March 2024 - NW273
Sithole, Mr KP to ask the Minister of Transport
Given that the economic cost and loss of life due to accidents on poorly maintained roads continue to increase (details furnished), what are the full, relevant details of the plans that her department has in place to ensure that this is prevented in the 2023-24 financial year?
Reply:
1. Road Safety Audits
The Department is highly concerned about the continuous increase in road traffic crashes due to poor condition of roads and to this end, my department developed the Road Safety Strategy that seeks to address rod crashes and fatalities with safer roads being one of the Road safety pillars. The Department of Transport developed the Road Safety Audit Manual that provides guidance to various Roads Authorities on actions to be adopted in keeping the roads safe for all road users.
2. Routine Road Maintenance (RRM
In addition to the Road Safety Manual, the South African National Roads Agency (SOC) Limited developed the Routine Road Maintenance Program to ensure that the newly built are regularly maintained to ensure longevity.
3. Provincial Road Maintenance Transversal Indicators
In addition to the above and in making sure that Provinces are well supported, the Department of Transport has established a set of four (4) performance indicators that are consistently executed by all Provinces and monitored on quarterly basis. These Transversal Indicators are:
- Number of kilometres of surfaced roads visually assessed as per the applicable Technical Methods for Highways (TMH) manual,
- Number of kilometres of gravel roads visually assessed as per the applicable TMH Manual,
- Number of road safety audits conducted,
- Number of designs for transport infrastructure
4. Road Maintenance Grant
The Department has budgeted R42.6 billion for construction, maintenance and upgrade of the road infrastructure network, For the current reporting period the Department of Transport.