Speaking during the Provincial Exco Media Briefing at the Provincial Disaster Management Centre on Friday (4/4), Premier Lazarus Mokgosi expressed the concerns that many residents have long held. He acknowledged the province’s rural nature –  with over 60% of the population living in rural areas – complicates its ability to address infrastructure challenges, particularly when compared to more developed provinces like Gauteng and Western Cape.

“We did not choose to be here; we are here; it’s a reality, 60% rural, and at the same time, when you look at our road infrastructure as a province, more than 65% of our roads are gravel roads. We don’t have many tarred roads and paved roads, it’s a reality; it’s what we have.”  

With a population of just over four million, Mokgosi said the province receives limited resources, further exacerbating the situation.

“It’s a province that has challenges of high unemployment rate, it’s a province that has serious challenges with housing, water and other related issues. So, with the little budget of R55 billion that we have, we must share that money with all these provincial competing needs of our people. Housing, schools, clinics, roads, social grants; everything we must share that money,” Mokgosi elaborated, underscoring the difficulty of addressing all the needs of the province with limited funds.

He said R1.2 billion in grant funding has been allocated to public works and roads, with an additional R650 million earmarked to address road infrastructure issues. However, Mokgosi warned even these amounts are not enough to make substantial progress in a province where over 60% of the roads are in a state of disrepair.

“Just at an average level, how much does it cost to have a 1km road in a province where 60% of the roads are gravel? So if we are going to move with that speed and pace, I can guarantee you, all of us who are sitting in this hall, we are going to die; our children are going to die. 

“Maybe the third or fourth generation will have been able to cover 60% of gravel road. It will never happen to be able to have paved roads in this province if we are going to have R2 billion every year to deal with road infrastructure.”  

Mokgosi said the collapse of infrastructure in the province is largely a result of trying to meet the growing demands of the population – such as water and electricity – while neglecting the upkeep of existing infrastructure.

He said the state cannot address the infrastructure backlog in North West, while the department of Public Works also does not have professional engineers, but only technicians. It has been difficult to attract professional engineers to North West due to affordability.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi dg