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Road construction, maintenance and access remain among the biggest obstacles to community and economic upliftment, Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele said on Monday.
Addressing a transport summit in Midrand, Ndebele said while the country was on track in improving major city roads and highways, people in rural areas still did not have access to basic services.
"All they want is for the road to provide them with access to social and economic amenities and to improve their mobility."
He said the latest figures showed that a number of schools and hospitals were without road access.
Of the 5401 hospitals and schools in the Eastern Cape, 859 could not be accessed by road.
All the other provinces also had access problems.
Ndebele said that on average more than 30% of roads were in a poor or very poor condition.
The total of paved and gravelled road at provincial level sits at 40%.
Roads older than 20 years
"We know that about 80% of our roads network is now older than the 20 year design life based on information from 64% of the roads primarily national, provincial and [in] some cities."
He said it was difficult to verify the extent of the crisis at municipal level as there was a lack of information and support systems at this level.
"Now this is a matter of greater concern to us."
He said the country needed a R75 billion investment over the next five years to arrest this decline.
One way to fund this was to ensure that the money allocated from the Treasury was "ring-fenced" so that it could not be redistributed to another department.
He said another concern was that between 140 000km to 220 000km of roads were unproclaimed, meaning that they were not formally adopted as part of the official transport network.
"Legally no authority can spend money on roads that are not proclaimed," he said, adding that the uncertified access roads were typically in rural areas, meaning the majority of the country's people were left wanting for development and road maintenance.
Challenges
He said while maintenance was continuing, there were problems.
"The biggest challenge with roads is that by the time a problem is visible on the road surfaces, we are somewhat late with remedial action.
"On the other hand, while a road might be deteriorating without showing the stress on the surface, we often do not see the need to do the necessary interventions."
The department was trying to ensure heavy loads of equipment were rather moved by railway than using motorised transport.
This would help to maintain road surfaces but needed effective law enforcement to control overloading.
Referring to the upcoming 2010 Fifa World Cup, Deputy Minister Jeremy Cronin said he felt the developed world would be "favourably surprised" by South Africa's transport network, while Africa and third world countries would probably express envy.
Declining since the '70s
However, this only applied as they would be visiting built-up metropolitan areas and would not be venturing off the beaten track where infrastructure was still sorely needed.
He was quick to add that the problem of the deteriorating and non-existent road infrastructure was not a result of the post apartheid government legacy, but had rather been declining since the '70s when the then government showed signs of toppling.
He urged the delegates to the seminar to be constructively critical in order to address construction and road maintenance problems.
"There are no holy cows in this discussion, we want you to be critical."
This sentiment was echoed by Ndebele, who said: "If solutions cannot be found by this brains trust then those solutions do not exist anywhere else in the country".
Among those attending the summit were transport MECs, heads of departments from provincial level, the SA National Roads Agency and the road traffic management co-operation.
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Hyundai drives the World Cup
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The world’s biggest sporting event descends on South Africa next month and Hyundai will be transporting all the official guests, including the 32 teams.
A flotilla of 609 passenger cars and 32 luxury coaches from Hyundai will transport the Fifa officials, national teams, referees and media for the duration of the Football World Cup, now just 15 days away.
“We are proud to partner with Fifa during this historic football event. The opportunity to provide VIP transport at this momentous tournament gives us the high visibility we need in Africa and the world to raise awareness of our brand and products,” said Sean S.H. Kim, Senior Vice President of Hyundai Motor’s Marketing Division at the official handover ceremony at Soccer City in Johannesburg where Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke was presented with an oversized car key in front of a display of the full fleet.
On display were the Hyundai Universe Express Noble luxury coaches that were specially manufactured for the games and decorated with national team colours and flags.
About 80 Hyundai mechanical staff will be on stand-by throughout the games at the 10 stadiums in case emergency support for the fleet is needed.
The Korean manufacturer has an 11-year association with Fifa and has recently extended it partnership agreement to include the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil.
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Subaru Cosworth Impreza STi CS400 Revealed
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Following a string of teasers, details and photos of the Cosworth Impreza STi CS400 have been released. As the name suggests, the car is a result of a collaboration between Subaru and Cosworth. It is based on the Subaru STi hatch which, in standard form, makes 227 kW. Cosworth has seen to it that this figure does not stay as is.
A look at the styling changes reveals a new front bumper, mesh grille, foglights and a new rear spoiler. Wheels are a set of new 18-inch alloys. Exterior paintwork comes in a choice of silver, dark grey or red. The interior features new Recaro front seats, a piano black centre console and privacy glass.
Maximum power from the 2.5-litre turbo unit has been increased to 295 kW while torque goes up to 540Nm. Its 0 - 100km/h time is now 3.7 seconds and top speed is a limited 250km/h.
Among the improvements listed are new pistons, connecting rods, a redesigned head gasket and a new turbo with a new compressor design and wastegate actuator. The maximize performance of the new hardware, the ECU was tweaked as well.
Suspension has been lowered by 10mm while the front brakes featuring AP Racing discs measure 355mm. The track is 12mm wider.
Only 75 units of the Cosworth Impreza STi CS400 are being manufactured exclusively for the UK market.
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Volkswagen confirms Italdesign Giugiaro purchase
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Confirming earlier reports, Volkswagen has announced they will buy Italdesign Giugiaro.
While details are limited, Lamborghini Holding S.p.A will acquire a 90.1% stake in the company. The remaining shares will be owned by the Giugiaro family.
According to Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen, "With this shareholding in Italdesign, we are participating in one of the most renowned design and development companies with one of the richest traditions in the automobile industry." He added, "The Volkswagen Group will be continuing its model initiative over the coming years and will benefit from the capacity and competence of Italdesign. The company will therefore be making an important contribution to our 2018 global growth strategy."
As you may recall, Volkswagen and Italdesign Giugiaro have a long history of working together. Giorgetto Giugiaro designed the Golf I as well as concepts for the Passat, Scirocco and Audi 80. More importantly, Italdesign Giugiaro is currently designing the production Volkswagen Up!
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Novitec Rosso Ferrari 612 Scaglietti tuning update
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Novitec Rosso has announced new accessories, wheels and an ECU upgrade for the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti.
Consisting of a revised ECU and a stainless steel exhaust system, the package increases the output of the 5.7-liter V12 from 400 kW and 588 Nm to 416 kW and 609 Nm of torque. This enables the Scaglietti to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 3.9 seconds, before topping out at more than 325 km/h.
In terms of styling, the company offers darkened lighting units (taillights, reflectors and side markers) and three-piece NF3 alloy wheels which measure 9Jx20 front and 12.5Jx21 rear. Inside, customers can order a sport steering wheel, special leather upholstery, and custom seats.
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BMW US admit mistake launching 5-Series GT with V8
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BMW's North American sales boss, Rich Brekus, has officially confirmed the obvious - launching an overpriced, stylistically challenged, V8-powered, segment bender during a recession is a bad idea.
Speaking with Automotive News, Brekus said "The V-8 was probably not the right car to launch it with." His sentiments were echoed by Jim O'Donnell, BMW's North American CEO, who stated the company was "too ambitious with the 550 GT."
So how bad are GT sales in the United States? Not good, but a few notches above dismal. BMW managed to sell 1,143 GTs, which means it outperformed sales of the 2009 5-Series wagon but didn't meet initial expectations.
O'Donnell is hoping the situation will improve when BMW launches the 535 GT and the 550 GT xDrive but cautioned "This time next year, we'll tell you if it's successful or not."
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