Residents in the Namaqua district of the Northern Cape say they can see an improvement in the state of roads due to work that has been done by the province's Department of Roads and Public Works through Operation Vala Zonke.

A resident who frequently makes use of roads in the district, Marsilino LaPont, says an improvement can be seen since the establishment of the nationwide Operation Vala Zonke. On a question whether it will be a success, LaPont states that this will be a work in progress and there will always be potholes on roads.

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"There will always be potholes, but I believe our municipality will work hand in hand with the department when it comes to repairing roads because that is what has been happening recently and progress can definitely be seen." 

According to the official Facebook page of the department, the latest repair they have done was to fix potholes on the road between Springbok and Komaggas (MR745) in the Namaqua district.

The department also erected additional speed signs on the TR51 road from the N8 traffic circle, just outside Kimberley, towards the Homelite and Homevale turn-off (MR904) in the Frances Baard district.

The Deputy Minister of Transport, Sindisiwe Chikunga, previously made her way to the province with the aim of assessing the condition of the roads.

During her address, she expressed her gratitude to the roadworkers who have put in the work since the beginning of Operation Vala Zonke.

She mentioned that the country has a road network of 750 000km of which 159 000km are tarred, which "highlights the immense responsibility of the government to maintain all roads and upgrade gravel roads". 

OFM News