Notes to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Evert Du Plessis MPL
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng demands that the Gauteng MEC for Roads, Transport, and Logistics, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, urgently repair the R563 road in Krugersdorp, where a large sinkhole appeared in February and has not been attended to, continuing to endanger the lives of motorists.
Today, I conducted an oversight inspection at the R563 and discovered that a massive sinkhole had spread from the side to almost the middle of the road. This is a danger to motorists and pedestrians. This road is busy and has had numerous accidents over the last few months. Residents complain about the damage to their tyres. There are no streetlights, and it is pitch dark. A number of the non-electric safety signage is sitting at the bottom of the sinkhole.
See the photos here, here, and here.
The R563 road, in the Mogale City area, links Gauteng to the North-West and Botswana. Despite numerous appeals to the Gauteng Departments of Transport, Roads, and Logistics to repair the road, lack of budget has been the reason for not attending to this critical situation.
Yesterday, geo-specialists came to assess the state of the road and money will be needed for the next stage of tests, but we are watching closely to see whether the necessary repairs will be made. The should not be closed because it would lead to huge disruptions and loss of revenue.
Furthermore, the area is prone to sinkholes, there is a cave system close by, and illegal miners operate in the area.
The DA Gauteng would continue to ask questions in the legislature and demand action from MEC Diale-Tlabela, especially as the department has received an additional adjustment budget of R314.9 million.
The DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government will not return any transport budget to the Treasury until all necessary repairs are done on all our provincial roads. Safe roads are critical to growing the economy and keeping our citizens safe.