The Democratic Alliance in the Eastern Cape has strongly criticised the provincial government over the deplorable state of community roads, which has severely impacted voting access and emergency services in rural areas. According to DA provincial leader Andrew Whitfield, the lack of infrastructure maintenance has jeopardised basic democratic rights and isolated rural residents from crucial emergency services and economic opportunities. This issue came to the forefront after severe weather and neglected infrastructure disrupted special voting access for Electoral Commission of South Africa officials.
IEC officials faced significant challenges accessing parts of the Alfred Nzo region and King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality during special voting due to rain-damaged roads. The DA Eastern Cape leader, Andrew Whitfield, expressed his disappointment at the lack of maintenance of social and economic infrastructure, which affects not only people's democratic right to vote but also access to ambulances, police, and economic opportunities. Whitfield emphasised that the state of roads, especially in rural areas, is horrific and has been a persistent issue.
The DA in the Eastern Cape has taken the provincial government to task for not doing enough to maintain community roads. Whitfield noted that while arterial routes have seen upgrades, community roads remain in a crisis state due to high and inefficient road-surfacing costs. This has resulted in a situation where only a smaller number of roads can be repaired than would ordinarily be possible. The opposition party argues that this is a priority that needs to be addressed in the Eastern Cape.
The poor state of roads in the Eastern Cape has significant implications for the community. It not only disrupts voting access but also blocks ambulances, police, and economic participation. The DA has highlighted that the issue is not new and has been affecting the community for some time. The party is calling for urgent attention to be given to the maintenance of community roads to prevent such disruptions in the future.
According to Whitfield, too much money is spent relative to what it should cost to surface roads, which means that fewer roads can be repaired. He stressed that the Eastern Cape government needs to tackle this issue as a priority. The DA is urging the government to allocate more resources to the maintenance of community roads to prevent such disruptions.
The impact of the poor road infrastructure was evident during the special voting exercise in the Alfred Nzo region and Sigingqini, under the King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality. IEC officials struggled to gain access to several parts of the province due to undriveable roads caused by rainy weather. This delay and denial of people's right to vote are unacceptable, according to Whitfield.
The DA's concerns about the state of roads in the Eastern Cape have been raised at the results operation centre in KuGompo City. Whitfield acknowledged that there have been major upgrades on the arterial routes but emphasised that community roads are a major crisis. The party is calling for urgent action to be taken to address this issue and prevent such disruptions in the future.
Key points
- The Democratic Alliance in the Eastern Cape condemns the provincial government for poor road infrastructure.
- The poor state of roads affects not only voting access but also emergency services and economic participation.
- The DA is calling for urgent attention to be given to the maintenance of community roads.
