AS has appeared more and more recently in the Highway Mail, the state of the Upper Highway area of the M13 is in a woeful state.
So much lip service has been given by the Department of Transport (DoT) for what was going to be done to Fields Hill after the horrific accident there a few years ago, with absolutely nothing concrete being done.
That area, and driving generally on the M13, one sees armco barriers long damaged, along with other outstanding road maintenance.
Do motorist’s lives matter?
The Department of Transport has admitted their budget has been cut back. I was told a few years back from in-house in the DoT that less than 10 cent of the then budget was available for road works/maintenance and the majority of the budget went to pay for the wage burden.
So let’s say for illustration purposes that the budget was 100. This means 10 per cent for maintenance the 90 per cent for the balance.
If the budget was cut back to say 90, the original ‘fixed’ 90 mostly remains, so what happens? Nothing can be done and no value can be added. This is just an example of what it is like today with so many government departments.
The overstaffed service, with its wage burden, is crippling South Africa. Little wonder that service delivery protests are on the increase. I wonder how many government workers are downright frustrated in their jobs as they cannot do what is needed as no funds are available.
The answer – as on a sinking ship – the unnecessary weighty materials are thrown overboard. I propose that attractive incentives are given for people to exit the government service, to make the necessary trimming for overall efficiency. Costly initially, but in the long run it would be a life saver for the country.
Bernie McLoughlin
Hillcrest
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