The South African Minister of Transport, Sbu Ndebele, says that 4 100 kilometres of SA roads are in such a bad state that their structural lifespans are capped at 5 years. This equates to roughly 32% of South Africa's national road network.

As far back as 2003, several warnings were issued to the then Thabo Mbeki government to maintain roads so as to avoid massive future expenditure. These warnings were disregarded. Interestingly, one of the major reasons given for the deterioration of road infrastructure is the reliance on road freight in place of rail transport.  The poorly maintained and lacking rail infrastructure was meant to be upgraded according to the last 3 budget allocations delivered by Trevor Manuel - including a whopping R2 Billion in 2009 alone.

What's more, the Gauteng freeways are all being upgraded by the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) which from 2010/2011 will result in all upgraded freeways being converted into toll roads at an estimated cost of R0.50 per kilometer. This, according to some commentators, is also being introduced to force Gauteng motorists to make use of the "Gautrain" and BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) systems when they come online in 2010.

So, as taxpayers we're footing the bill for the roads through our normal taxes on our earnings, taxes on fuel consumption (more than 20% of the petrol price = tax) and soon toll roads on almost all our national roads and freeways. One question Sbu - who is going to maintain the backroads and fix the damn pot-holes in those?

Eish!