….Prime Ministers says there will be prompt attendance to all road failures
BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE– The Ministry of Public Works and Transport said its teams are already on the ground and as soon as the rains are over, will hit the ground running.
This is according to the Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Thulani Mkhaliphi, who confirmed that the rains had damaged a lot of roads and bridges across the country.
“As we speak, we are not folding hands as a ministry as our teams are assessing the damage on the ground and we receive constant updates,” the PS said.
He said they would use the assessments to prioritise the road that they would start with. He said this was because some roads were badly damaged compared to others. He made an example with the bridge that was washed away by floods at Maphiveni last week Thursday stating that their team from the Lubombo Region was there trying to find means of alleviating the situation.
His statement was shortly followed by the Prime Minister’s statement where he revealed that Government was going to attend to road failures immediately.
Prime Minister Cleopas Sipho Dlamini has made an undertaking that government will promptly attend to all road failures caused by the ongoing rains.
The PM made this commitment when he assessed the damaged Armco culvert along the Maphiveni-Tshaneni (MR24) road.
Dlamini said the government will support the Ministry of Public Works and Transport in whatever way necessary to ensure that these road failures are attended to within the shortest possible time.
“The damages pose a great danger to the Nation, therefore we must work around the clock to assess the damage countrywide and plan how we will repair the damages. This damage is the greatest one of those reported and the Ministry of Public Works and Transport will start on the works as soon as possible,” said the PM.
Meanwhile, the PS said regarding Mgungundlovu Bridge under Ndzingeni Inkhundla, the contractor had not handed it over to the government. However, he said since the damage was a result of unforeseen circumstances, they were yet to engage the contractor.
It is worth noting that the country last experienced almost similar overflowing of rivers, dams, and streams in January 2021 and this was when the country, among others, was hit by Cyclone Eloise.
Later on, the government allocated E40 million towards rebuilding houses for those affected by Tropical Cyclone Eloise as well as rehabilitating damaged infrastructure, including roads and bridges.
