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QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES FOR OPEN DAY

The people of the province of the Eastern Cape to ask the MEC responsible for Roads and Public Works:

1. What action is his department taking to address the condition of roads in the rural areas of the province with specific reference to (a) tarring of access roads and (b) repair of potholes?

2. Whether any steps are being taken to construct bridges in the rural areas of the province where communities are often cut off and isolated in the rainy season?

3. Whether open, undeveloped land belonging to his department is maintained on a regular basis by means of (a) grass cutting and (b) bush clearing?

RESPONSE

Mr Speaker, we are very grateful to be afforded an opportunity to once again share with most important component of our society, the people, that which government and the department is attempting to do in changing their lives for the better.

The Department of Roads and Public Works is charged with the constitutional responsibility of providing and maintaining provincial infrastructure. This infrastructure is in the main buildings for all government departments and the construction of provincial roads and bridges.

In discharging this responsibility the department informed by the broad provincial priorities as well as national policy imperatives sets out its own priorities for each financial year.

At the beginning of each financial year, the department is by law expected to outline its intentions or what it sets to achieve in that year. These should be captured in the form of a departmental plan (strategic plan) that breathes for a period of five years or so, which in turn should be translated into an operational plan, whose life span is only one financial year.

In the context of the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy, our department has also prioritised rural development and tailored its programmes to meet this high level objective as articulated by both the policy speech, the strategic plan and the operational plan.

As outlined in our policy speech this year we will have a dedicated focus on all roads leading to health institutions particularly hospitals in the rural areas. In these roads, we will be creating permanent all weather access.

Mr Speaker, the majority of roads that we are going to be doing this financial year, are rural roads. These roads include the tarring of R56 Maclear - Mt Fletcher, Cala - Elliot, Cala Lady Frere, Flagstaff to Holly Cross Sterkspruit to Tele Bridge to mention but a few.

Also, we will be constructing six bridges in the following areas: Umtata; Philipton; Venterstad; Weston Ngqamakwe and Port St Johns.

Furthermore, we have resolved to include communities in the normal maintenance of roads in the rural areas. In this regard, we are introducing the community based roads maintenance programme or Lengthman System. The maintenance programme includes the clearing of bushes and the cutting of grass as and when necessary.

All these efforts, Mr Speaker, are indications that we have a special focus on rural roads albeit our acknowledgement that much more still needs to be done. However, our efforts continue to be hampered by the environment within which we operate. We have inherited an environment that is completely hostile to people centred development, an environment that was informed by the policy of separate development. To that extent, we therefore have a non - developmental separation of functions and authorities with respect to roads network in the province. We want to change that Mr Speaker, hence our Roads Indaba on the 30th and 31st of May 2002.

We want to assure the people of this province that the Department of Roads and Public Works is doing all within its power to contribute in the struggle to change their lives for the better.

Thank you,

Issued by: Roads and Public Works, Eastern Cape, 10 May 2002