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Road degradation in Durban and Johannesburg is at "tipping point" and urgent action is required to prevent an infrastructure backlog "that is impossible to reverse", an investigation by the Democratic Alliance has found.
Party MP Stuart Farrow, who sits on the portfolio committee for transport, said at press conference in Cape Town on Wednesday that "urgent action" had to be taken to prevent a situation that was impossible to reverse.
"We are at tipping point where we have one of two options - take dramatic and urgent action to arrest the exponential decline or continue on as normal and risk generating an infrastructure backlog that is impossible to reverse," he said.
South Africa had a road maintenance backlog of R126bn. The situation in the country's metropolitans and municipalities was "equally problematic", with backlogs estimated at R38bn.
"That under spending, [accumulated] over years, is now starting to manifest in very real and dangerous terms for South African commuters," he said.
The problem had been made worse by a fall in the number of engineers in the public sector.
The DA photographed more than 100 of the "worst" potholes for its investigation, but found widespread scarring and wear and tear was evident "around every corner".
Missing manhole covers, collapsing traffic lights and lamp posts and ripped up pavements were also widespread.
Giant potholes
The five worst potholes were found on Bolton Road in Rosebank, Riviera Road and Glenhove Road in Killarney, Kenville Road in Umgeni Heights Durban and North East Road on the KwaMashu Highway in Durban.
Some of the worst potholes, Farrow said, were found near President Jacob Zuma's Johannesburg home in the suburb of Forest Town.
"It is rife with potholes, leaking water, missing manhole covers and broken signage. We took some pictures of huge potholes within 100 metres of his private house.
Giant potholes were also found near the United States embassy in Killarney and in the suburb of Houghton, near the home of former president Nelson Mandela.
"If you consider the type of business that goes on this suburb, in terms of the embassies that are found there, then this does not send out a very good message."
The investigation, however, did not cover only "leafy suburbs", but also townships where roads were often found to be in a state of severe decay.
Farrow said Cape Town had problems in some areas, "in townships".
Small businesses do repairs
The majority of the problem was concentrated in Johannesburg and Durban.
The scale of the problem in the two cities was almost "equal" to the national road maintenance backlog.
Cape Town's roads were in a better condition as the city had retained technical skills and engineers and was using "quick to react" small businesses to repair potholes.
Farrow proposed a dedicated fund for road maintenance to help ensure a regular supply of funds to gradually eliminate the backlog nationally and provincially.
The fund could be the responsibility of a special department of roads and safety within the ministry of transport to deal with the backlog and continued maintenance.
"A dedicated fund for road maintenance is a way of ensuring that money is spent in this regard and not simply allocated elsewhere."
Farrow proposed using the existing fuel levy and income from traffic fines, which together contribute R26bn to the fiscus.
The repair and maintenance of roads could create thousands of jobs for the Expanded Public Works Programme, he said.
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All New 2011 VW Touareg Revealed
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Described as the most technically innovative Volkswagen ever created, the Touareg features numerous modifications to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.
The exterior has a familiar design but the sport-ute is 4.3 cm longer, 2.0 cm lower, and has a 4.0 cm longer wheelbase - width remains unchanged. Design features include a new grille, a shapely profile, and distinctive taillights.
Inside, the cabin is positively luxurious. It has higher quality materials, more comfortable seats, and additional rear leg room. The rear bench has 160 mm of longitudinal adjustment and an adjustable backrest. More importantly, the seats can be folded down via a press of a button (optional) to free up 1,642 liters of cargo space (it has 580 liters of space when the seats are up). Other highlights include a standard 6.5 inch touch-screen, a 6-disc CD changer, an available GPS navigation system (with an 8-inch touch-screen), and a variety of wood trim.
Weighing 208 kilograms less than its predecessor, the 2011 Touareg offers a choice of FSI, TDI, TSI, and Hybrid engines. Unfortunately, the V8 petrol, V10 TDI, and W12 engines are no longer offered.
The Touareg Hybrid features a supercharged V6 TSI petrol engine that produces 245 kW and an electric motor with 34 kW. With a combined output of 279 kW and 580 Nm of torque, the Hybrid can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 6.5 seconds and hit a top speed of 240 km/h. Combined fuel consumption is rated at 8.2 L/100 km, while CO2 emissions come in at 193 g/km. More importantly, the hybrid can drive up to 50 km/h in pure electric mode.
The 3.6-liter V6 FSI has 206 kW and 360 Nm of torque. It consumes 9.9 L/100 km, a reduction of 2.5 l/100 km, and has a CO2 emission rating of 236 g/km (a reduction of 60 g/km).
On the diesel side Volkswagen offers two TDI engines. The V6 TDI cranks out 176 kW and 550 Nm of torque. It consumes 7.4 l/100 km, 1.9 liters less than before and has a CO2 emissions rating of 195 g/km (reduced of 49 g/km). On the other hand, the new 4.2-liter V8 TDI has 250 kW and 800 Nm of torque. Fuel consumption is rated at 9.1 L/100 km, while CO2 emissions come in at 239 g/km.
The engines send power through two all-wheel drive systems. The base 4Motion version has a Torsen limited-slip differential and an off-road driving program (which tunes the ABS, EDS and ASR for off-road duty, activates Hill Descent Assist, and adjusts the automatic gearshift points). It allows the Touareg to climb grades of up to 31 degrees. If that isn't enough for your off-road adventures, the V6 TDI offers an available 4XMOTION all-wheel drive system. It allows the Touareg to climb grades of up to 45 degrees thanks to reduction gearing, locking differentials (center and rear), and a rotary terrain switch (which offers five modes - On-Road, Off-Road, Low, centre differential lock, and rear differential lock).
Look for the redesigned Touareg to start arriving in dealerships this April.
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Toyota summoned to US Congress?
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Toyota Motor said on Friday its embattled head is planning a U.S. trip early next month but would not confirm whether he would attend congressional hearings probing the automaker's safety recalls.
U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, the top Republican on the House Oversight and Government committee, is pressing his case to get Akio Toyoda to testify before a congressional committee, saying he would support a subpoena to force his appearance.
Toyota has recalled more than 8.5 million vehicles globally for faulty brakes and accelerator-related problems that have been linked to crashes that killed at least 19 people. Its profits have already suffered and its share price has taken a beating, while its once stellar reputation for quality has been tarnished.
The safety recalls will also hurt U.S. dealer sales in the first quarter but payments from Toyota for the repairs will offset any dealer losses over the rest of the year, two major U.S. auto dealership groups said on Thursday.
Toyota spokeswoman Mieko Iwasaki in Tokyo said the company was making arrangements for Toyoda to make a trip to the United States in early March, but she declined to comment on whether he would attend the U.S. congressional hearings.
Issa invited Toyoda to testify and suggested another hearing could be held if the automaker's top executive could not make the Feb. 24 session as scheduled. Hearings are also planned for Feb. 25 and March 2.
In a Feb. 11 letter to Oversight Chairman Democrat Edolphus Towns, Issa said he supports issuing a subpoena if necessary to compel testimony from Toyoda.
"Whether it is for a microprocessor engineer or the top executive, we have a duty to determine what Toyota knew, when they knew it and if they met their full obligation of disclosure to U.S. regulators and the American people," the California lawmaker said.
Meetings planned
Japan's Asahi newspaper reported on Friday that Toyota would make a formal decision on Toyoda's attending the hearings after it receives an invitation.
It said Toyoda plans to meet U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and major lawmakers and will also hold a news conference as part of his trip.
"Of course, when he does visit America, he would look forward to the opportunity to meet with members of Congress," the company said in a separate statement.
A spokeswoman for Towns said he would speak with Issa about the matter, but there have been no changes in the witness lineup.
LaHood, David Strickland, consumer advocate Joan Claybrook and safety researcher Sean Kane are also expected to testify.
Issa also suggested former Bush administration transportation officials appear at any follow-up hearing to answer questions about government safety decisions on Toyota that were made during their time in office.
Shares of Toyota rose 1.8 percent to 3,450 yen in Tokyo trade on Friday, outperforming the benchmark Nikkei average's which was up 0.6 percent. The stock is still down almost a fifth since Jan. 21.
Separately, Japan's Yomuiri newspaper reported on Friday that in an effort to regain its standing with customers, Toyota has decided to publicise all car problems including the ones which are not subject to recalls.
Toyota spokeswoman Iwasaki said that the automaker was still checking the report.
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