Gauteng government to take 'leading role' in tarring roads, filling potholes, with focus on townships: Lesufi

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi says the provincial government will assume a “leading role” in filling potholes and tarring roads across the province over the next few months.

Lesufi revealed this in his state of the province address and expounded on it in an interview with SAfm on Tuesday morning.

In Monday's speech, the premier revealed the provincial government had engaged with all of Gauteng's municipalities, except the then DA-run Tshwane and Joburg, on the matter.

“All have agreed to partner with [the provincial government] through a memorandum of understanding (MOU). Now we are taking over the leading role in making sure that tarring dusty streets in our townships is a priority.

“As the generation that grew up in the dusty streets of our townships, we cannot let our next generation choke on the same unpaved streets due to continued failure of government to catalyse development.”

Lesufi said township roads would be prioritised as they are the worst-hit and most often neglected. He said that while provincial roads were in a “superb” state due to the e-toll project, the fixing of intersections and traffic lights managed by the province would also be prioritised.

He told SAfm the MOU would be extended to Joburg in light of the recent change to the city's mayoral committee.

The premier also spoke on the issue of e-tolls, again confirming they would be scrapped and that stakeholders were in the final stages “of agreeing on all matters that will finally allow us to gazette switching off the gantries”. This includes debt repayment and the money collected from paying customers and that not collected from non-paying motorists.

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