The Democratic Alliance is concerned about the deteriorating state of the streets in Musina and Makhado, especially now that the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) has been given a fully compliant, final environmental impact assessment.
The 2 towns will serve the as the business hubs for the MMSEZ for shopping, services and other commercial enterprise.
Furthermore, the N1 national road runs through the centre of both Musina and Makhado Local Municipalities and are already subjected to freight vehicles and heavy traffic to Beitbridge.
Streets in the Makhado business district just off the N1 road are riddled with potholes and some streets are almost devoid of any tarred surface (See photos here and here)
In February 2021, the Vhembe area experienced localised flooding which caused more damaged to neglected tarred streets in Musina. (See photos here and here)
After theses floods, the DA cautioned the MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Bioskopo Makamu, that if he does not act swiftly to ensure that infrastructure is repaired and maintained, his tardiness will negatively impact the MMSEZ development.
The poor condition of the streets in Musina and Makhado are of concern to every commuter and affect all residents.
The DA believes that road infrastructure should be the gateway to opportunity and thus safe and well maintained.
The current state of the streets on Musina and Makhado is not only unsafe, but is an embarrassment to the province when investors of the MMSEZ visit the area.
It is evident that years of ANC maladministration and no planning have generated a problem that is now out of control.
The R647 billion MMSEZ development has now been given the green light by the new and controversial Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and will require world class roads infrastructure.
Only the DA has a proven track record to measure cost of local road maintenance backlog to enable greater efficiency in allocation of budgets.