By Neo Kolane
Governments’ efforts to rehabilitate and construct new roads across the country are being severely hampered by an acute shortage of funds.
The Roads Directorate says it has received M1.231 billion for road maintenance in the current 2023-24 financial year but this is a far cry from the M14 billion it requires to adequately address Lesotho’s road network challenges.
An additional M13 billion is required for road network rehabilitation, paving, street lighting, and construction of bridges.
Speaking at the annual works programme press conference in Maseru this week, the Director General of the Roads Directorate, Teboho Mokhoane, explained that the department needs M2 million yearly to maintain roads but was yet to receive it from government.
The Roads Directorate is responsible for construction, upgrading, rehabilitation and maintenance of primary, secondary, tertiary and other roads as well as bridges on the country’s road network.
Mokhoane said as a result of a shortage of adequate funds, the department had not commenced some planned works.
“The Directorate is in need of funds to ensure effective and efficient management of the country’s road network. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough, resulting in us failing to achieve our targets,” he said.
However, some projects include the upgrading of the Mpiti-Sehlabathebe road in Qacha’s Nek and the Marakabei and Monontṧa road in the Butha Buthe district were now underway.
Mokhoane also indicated that the organisation’s efforts were being undermined by some construction companies which failed to complete their projects or did shoddy workmanship.
He further stated that most of the country’s roads were generally in a bad state as they have not been rehabilitated for many years.
“This can be seen by the many visible potholes caused by heavy traffic,” Mokhoane said.
Some roads and foot bridges had collapsed due to the impact of heavy rainfalls over the years.
“Generally, the country’s paved roads have gradually declined in quality due to lack of maintenance, resulting in the reduction of their life spans,” he noted.
The quality of Lesotho’s roads continues to deteriorate, with potholes and poor drainage giving road users sleepless nights.
Mokhoane explained that the Directorate’s plan is to come up with well-constructed and maintained roads which are safer as they give vehicles better stopping distances. This significantly helps in preventing accidents.
“Unfortunately, a good chunk of roads in the capital Maseru and other districts are riddled with potholes, a result of erosion exacerbated by uncontrolled water flow during heavy rains,” he added.
