KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport Siboniso Duma has announced a total budget allocation of R9.2 billion for transport infrastructure in the 2025/2026 fiscal year. This comes as a relief to a province whose roads are beset with potholes, flood damage, and road maintenance backlogs. In a budget policy speech, Duma outlined a response to these challenges.
Of the total amount, over R3.8 billion will fund new infrastructural projects, while more than R4.3 billion is earmarked for maintaining the existing road network. An additional R102 million will support infrastructure planning and design, with R927 million allocated to various transport infrastructure support programmes.
Duma noted the department’s oversight of 34,404.8km of provincial roads, including 8,705.5km paved and 25,699.2km unpaved.
He said: “This requires us to continue striking a delicate balance between constructing new projects and maintaining existing infrastructure, especially with the continuous flooding that has increased our repair and rehabilitation costs, thus diverting funds from planned projects.”
The Department of Transport plans to leverage established panels for procuring services from contractors and consultants in an approach that Duma says “aims to streamline procurement processes and ensure effective delivery of road infrastructure projects.”
Duma also outlined plans to explore innovative funding mechanisms, including accessing the Presidential Infrastructure Fund for blended financing solutions aimed at transforming KZN’s infrastructure landscape.
“We are also developing innovative ways of funding infrastructure and want to tap into the Presidential Infrastructure Fund to transform our infrastructure through blended financing solutions,” Duma said.
A significant concern for much of the population is the potholes seen across KZN roads. The Department says they allocated R216,584,440.26 to the blacktop patching programme in the last financial year.
Duma said: “In the 2023/24 financial year, the Department procured 55 trucks at a cost of R102 million. We have 3.12 million square metres of potholes that need to be attended to. We intend to procure a further 25 trucks to reinforce our efforts to eliminate potholes from our road network. The department has also appointed more than 100 road worker aids and foremen to be on the front lines in the fight against potholes.”
While the funds will be allocated to repair severely damaged roads across KZN, some repairs closer to Newcastle include the P281 in Msinga, the L557 in Utrecht, the D296 in Blood River, and D1348 in Nquthu.
