Parliament, Wednesday, 19 August 2026 – Mpumalanga province requires about R38 billion for the rehabilitation and maintenance of damaged roads in the province, Mpumalanga’s delegation to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) heard yesterday.
The provincial Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport told an NCOP delegation, currently on oversight visits as part of the Provincial Week programme, that the province is facing a high rehabilitation need for preserving roads infrastructure, with an estimated backlog of R38 billion.
Provincial government officials reported during an oversight visit to the badly damaged R36 road in the Thaba Chweu Local Municipality that some provincial roads, including the R36, have since been transferred to the South African National Roads Limited (SANRAL) because the province did not have enough budget to fix the damages.
The NCOP delegation welcomed the assurance that the roads were transferred to SANRAL with a specific condition that they will not be tolled after the upgrades. SANRAL reported that the roads were transferred with no budget and the entity will have to raise funds for the reconstruction of the badly damaged R36 and other roads in the province.
The agency told the NCOP that construction of the R36 could start in 2028, and delegates felt this was too late, as the state of the road is a serious hazard. In the meantime, while planning for the reconstruction of the road, mining companies have invested R70 million to make the road a little safer. Most of the roads in the province are damaged by heavy load vehicles such as coal haulage trucks and other heavy goods that are not supposed to be transported by road.
The NCOP also heard that pressure on the provincial roads would ease significantly as soon as the road-to-rail migration happens. This is a government initiative that seeks to move heavy freight and cargo transport from roads to railway networks.
Mpumalanga Provincial Whip in the NCOP Ms Syvia Nxumalo said roads are a key public infrastructure that drive economic growth, and that the SANRAL intervention is a positive step forward.
“We welcome the move to transfer the roads to SANRAL. We believe it is a positive intervention, but we are concerned that 2028 is a bit far for the reconstruction of the R36. We wish if SANRAL could speed up their processes because there is no road left there. What we saw there is serious hazard to our motorists and tourists who use that road daily,” said Ms Nxumalo.
Today the delegation will engage the provincial government, Nkangala District Municipality and Emakhazeni Local Municipality for a briefing on progress made in the implementation of the 2025 resolutions from the Emakhazeni Local Municipality report (Provincial Week).
The delegation will also conduct follow-up oversight visits to HA Grove Belfast Hospital and the Integrated Residential Development Programme in Emakhazeni.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE LEADER OF MPUMALANGA DELEGATION TO THE NCOP, MS SYLVIA NXUMALO.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Mpumalanga Provincial Whip, please contact:
Name: Sakhile Mokoena
Cell: 081 705 2130
E-mail: smokoena@parliament.gov.za
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