Prince Simelane, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, has expressed his reluctance to serve again as the Minister of Housing and Urban Development. This statement was made in response to a question from Deputy Speaker Madala Mhlanga, who asked if Simelane would consider returning to the Housing and Urban Development portfolio.
“In this ministry, I had to deal with queries dating back to 1970,” Simelane remarked, highlighting the challenges he faced during his previous tenure.
Simelane was speaking on behalf of the substantive Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Apollo Maphalala, who is currently out of the country. He was in Parliament to respond to a motion raised by LaMgabhi Member of Parliament Sicelo Jele. Jele called on the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to provide a detailed report to the House of Assembly on the efforts being made to repair potholes in cities and towns across the country.
In his response, Simelane assured that efforts are underway to fix potholes in most urban areas. He clarified, “I must highlight this: in towns, there are two kinds of roads—those that belong to the Government and those that belong to the Municipality. The budget for fixing these potholes has significantly decreased, from E40 million last year to E20 million this year.”
For context, a pothole is a depression in a road surface, typically in asphalt pavement, caused by the removal of broken pieces of the pavement. This usually results from water infiltrating the underlying soil structure, which is then further damaged by traffic. The water weakens the soil beneath the road, and the repeated stress from vehicles causes the asphalt to crack and deteriorate, eventually ejecting both the asphalt and the underlying soil material.
Simelane’s remarks underscore the ongoing challenges in maintaining infrastructure, particularly in the face of budget cuts and longstanding issues.
