South Africa faces plenty of challenges, from load shedding to water shortages, unemployment, and lack of housing or proper sanitation.

The need to create economic sustainability has become crucial. The government is set to implement labor-intensive road construction and maintenance programs in efforts to improve the provincial road conditions.

The quality of roads plays a significant role in the country’s economy. The lack of proper road infrastructure has had a huge impact on the loss of business profitability, investments, and tourism, as well as the increase in road accidents.

Poor road infrastructure also poses a threat to modes of transport such as buses, trucks, and taxis. In communities, roads maintain close connected relationships, it is easier for community members to commute around.

Road infrastructure is an effective way to improve the safety of roads, it assists people by making it easy to access jobs, school and other activities that better their quality of life. In many under-developed areas, access to health facilities is not easy.

The mobility of sick patience is negatively affected by poorly built road infrastructure and the distance. The construction of good infrastructure will assist with reducing maternal mortality rates and deaths.

The government is set to implement a labor-intensive road construction and maintenance program that involves blacktop patching, resealing, pothole repairs as well as gravel road maintenance.

Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula said, “Amongst the outcomes we have committed to, is the maintenance of approximately 20 000 kilometers of roads in our secondary network by March 2024. These Provincial roads that are in desperate need to be brought to an acceptable state of repair.”

The South African Bitumen Association (Sabita) is a non-profit organisation that expressed concern with the deterioration of roads, it commissioned a team of academics to review the current situation which has resulted in a study document that was presented to the Committee.

“An initiative that allows national and provincial spheres of government to work towards common road maintenance targets while augmenting funding through the Provincial Road Maintenance Grant,’’ Mbalula added.

The government’s plan involves the distribution or road construction and maintenance budgets to reach the maximum impact for decreasing the transaction costs of South African products on international markets.

Additionally, the government intends on adopting the practices and road maintenance methods to create a cost-effective and cost-efficient job.