A team from the Road Traffic Inspectorate will work with municipalities and stakeholders, including Transnet, to prevent truck congestion from the N2 highway leading to the Port of Richards Bay.

This was among the commitments made during a meeting held by the KwaZulu-Natal Transport and Human Settlements Departments.

Transport and Human Settlements MEC, Siboniso Duma, recently met with the management and all categories of staff from both departments working in King Cetshwayo, Zululand and UMkhanyakude Districts.

The meeting aimed to ensure that the two departments work collectively to accelerate the construction of roads and human settlements for the benefit of communities.

In a statement issued after the meeting, Duma said the stakeholders have decided to act decisively as the issue of truck congestion is resurfacing. Other stakeholders include the Road Freight Association and Zululand Chamber of Business.

“In addition, we commit to work with Transnet and Richards Bay Bulk Terminal to ensure safe and effective movement of coal destined for exports. Our roads have been damaged and created challenges such as truck related accidents that continue to claim innocent lives.

“There is a special team of traffic officers, uTalagu, that has been assigned to monitor the movements of trucks. Addressing these challenges means that as government we must invest in the development of infrastructure to accommodate the movement of goods and people,” Duma explained.

A need for all stakeholders to work hard to improve the railway networks and tap into aviation and maritime sectors to facilitate the movement of goods, was also emphasised.

He noted that the province is not only a construction site but strategically located along the longest coastline in Africa.

“This means that our economy is driven largely through the transport and logistics sectors based on the two major ports housed in the province, namely the Port of Richards Bay and the Port of Durban.

“Both ports are economically strategic not only to the province of KwaZulu-Natal, but also to the national economy of South Africa since they are linked to the economic heartland of South Africa, Gauteng, via road and rail networks.”

The MEC said the Port of Durban is also a transit point for cross border container traffic for neighbouring countries – a gateway to Southern Africa.

“The Ports of Richards Bay and Durban are important contributors to international trade and a significant enabler for South Africa’s and the province’s economic development. We are working with national government to ensure the expansion of road networks – the N2 and N3, along with our ports,” Duma said.

Apart from speeding up construction of houses for communities, the MEC acknowledged that there will be a growing demand for human settlements and pressure on road networks.

He added that with Richards Bay Industrial Economic Zone being a haven for foreign direct investment and a site for energy infrastructure, the province must be ready to be the host of the 3 000 MW gas-to-power plant to be constructed by power utility Eskom.

Original article post on SAnews.gov.za