NCOP Oversight Highlights Urgent Need for Enhanced Road Funding in Mpumalanga

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21-11-2025
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Parliament of the Republic of South Africa
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The Mpumalanga delegation to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has called for increased budgeting for the construction and maintenance of road infrastructure in the province, as roads are a key element of economic development and service delivery.

The delegation spent the second day of the Provincial Week programme conducting oversight visits in Emakhazeni Local Municipality by inspecting road infrastructure, human settlement developments and an agriculture empowerment programme.

During the delegation’s visit to the R540 road connecting Emakhazeni town and the popular tourist town of Dullstroom, they were briefed by the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) about recently refurbished road and plans to upgrade about 200km of road networks in the area, which were recently transferred from the municipality to SANRAL. The R540 road links the Mpumalanga Panorama route, Hoedspruit and the world-renowned Kruger National Park.

SANRAL officials told the NCOP about plans to invest over R12 billion to upgrade road infrastructure in the province over the next three years. This figure includes anticipated projects, those at procurement stage and others in various stages of construction, Mr Sinenkosi Dlamini, SANRAL’s Mpumalanga Operations and Maintenance Manager, explained.

The national road agency is assisting municipalities in the province through Operation Vala Zonke, a Department of Transport programme to fix potholes countrywide.

The executive mayor of Emakhazeni Local Municipality, Ms Nomhle Mashele, welcomed the programme, saying good roads will attract more visitors to the area’s tourism sites, which will boost the municipality’s economy.

Mr Oupa Pilane from Mpumalanga Tourism commended SANRAL and the province for the partnership to fix the roads and told the NCOP how domestic tourism had dropped drastically due to the poor state of the province’s roads. He noted that since the roads were finished many tourist facilities are already fully booked for the December holiday season. “After the road was refurbished, the number of travelers is rising again. This is proof that the road network is key to the tourism sector.”

The MEC for Public Works, Roads and Transport, Mr Thulasizwe Thomo, appealed to the NCOP to use the parliamentary budget process to advocate for increased allocation for the province to be able to address its infrastructure needs. “Roads are arteries to economic stimulation and job creation and the allocation we are getting as a department is inadequate. We need more money to maintain our roads,” he said.

The acting leader of the Mpumalanga NCOP delegation, Mr Patrick Sibande, also commented on the importance of road infrastructure in economic development. “Roads link communities to centers of economy. They are key elements of service delivery and economic development, and it is important that the government allocates adequate resources for maintenance to keep our roads in a good state at all times,” he said.