Free State roads in “abominable” state, despite reported investment

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05-03-2025
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Farmers Weekly
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In her recent State of the Province Address, Free State Premier Maqueen Letshoa-Matahe said that the provincial government had invested R1,9 billion in road infrastructure projects over the past financial year.

Despite a reported R1,9 billion investment in road infrastructure, the Free State’s road network remains in an “abominable” condition, according to Free State Agriculture.
vestment had been used for the construction, upgrading and maintenance of the Free State’s road network, she said.

“We are inspiring confidence to bolster growth and development. And time will be the judge of our work.

“We are pleased to announce that we will [also] complete the following roads: Zastron to Sterkspruit, Rosendal to Ficksburg, and Jacobsdal to Koffiefontein to Luckhoff to Havenga Bridge, as well as Viljoenskroon to Orkney,” said Letshoa-Matahe.

However, according to Jafta Mokoena, the DA’s spokesperson for roads and transport in the Free State, despite Letshoa-Matahe’s assertions of large-scale investment in the province’s road network, roads continued to deteriorate.

“The department responsible for roads and transport has single-handedly jeopardised the Free State’s road network, as well as the movement of goods and services, thereby putting the Free State’s economy at risk,” he said in a statement.

Farmers taking responsibility

Francois Wilken, chairperson of Free State Agriculture, said that although the Free State government owned 40 graders, only about 15 of them were operational at any given time. This matter was made worse by a marked shortage of trained grader operators.

“Over and above poor management, the Free State suffers from a serious lack of capacity.

We have reached a situation now where the provincial authorities provide graders and fuel to the farmers to repair the roads, on condition that farmers take responsibility for the operators’, mainly retired officials, salaries. This is an unacceptable situation, putting further strain on farmers’ already-compromised cash flow.

“But what can we do? The roads, and tertiary roads in particular, are in such an abominable condition that we don’t have a choice but to take responsibility for keeping them passable ourselves,” he told Farmer’s Weekly.