“Why put more pressure and not use the current… fees that we have given you as a government for you to maintain the roads that we have?”
Speaking on the sidelines of a site visit to the notorious Moloto Road on Tuesday , the minister said that a “robust feasible plan” to fix the state of the country’s roads had been put in place – but would only be able to work if companies, including those in the trucking industry, adopt it., Phadi said that despite being in weekly meetings with government freight committees, they had not heard about the plan that the minister revealed, let alone seen or discussed it.
She said that the plans would increase the operating costs of trucking companies and would have a ripple effect on the economy – leading to increased costs of goods for consumers. The utilisation of road freight transport has surged in South Africa as a consequence of the fall in the country’s rail system.