By Majirata Latela
The value of Lesotho’s roads has dropped by a whopping M40-billion from M60 billion in 2010 to M20 billion in 2019, the Roads Directorate has revealed.
The acting director general of the Roads Directorate Khasapane Kikine made this startling revelation at a press conference in Maseru this week, where he attributed the depreciation of the quality of roads throughout the country to lack of proper maintenance.
Kikine said in order to increase the life span of a road, there should be a full yearly maintenance “so as to conserve its quality.”
He said the country’s paved roads have gradually declined in quality due to lack of enhanced maintenance, resulting in the reduction of their life span.
According to Kikine, the unpaved roads status has been ‘very poor’, according to records spanning from 2010 to 2019. He said the condition of the paved roads has seen a steep decline from fair in the 2010 down to poor in 2019.
This, according to him, was reflected when the directorate undertook a countrywide road inspection.
The life span of a paved road is 15-20 years when well maintained and that involves unblocking clogged culverts, patching potholes, as well as painting. He suggested that rain and water are the greatest threats to damage the road infrastructure.
“Due to the financial status of the country in 2020 the directorate was allocated M480-million instead of M6-billion that was needed for road maintenance. When we heard that we were given such a small amount of money to fix the roads we suggested that at least we be given M1.1-billion every year so that we can restore the quality of our roads.
“The immediate need for paved roads is M2.1 billion. This is also referred to as backlog or technical needs of paved roads. M296-million is needed for paved roads for light reseals and reseals; in total 182 kilometers of paved roads should be resealed as a preventative measure to avert further deterioration.
“M1 814-million is needed for light and heavy rehabilitation. This is 296 kilometers of road where the roughness and structural cracking have developed beyond preventative maintenance. The structural repair is needed to improve the road to functional levels,” Kikine warned.
Kikine further indicated that unpaved roads need M3 933-million while M2 078-million is required for re-gravelling in a distance of 1703 kilometres. M1-million is needed to upgrade 341 kilometres of unpaved roads to paved standard.
The quality of Lesotho’s roads continues to come under the spotlight as the condition of many roads in the country continues to deteriorate, with potholes and poor drainage giving road users sleepless nights.
Well-constructed and maintained roads are said to be safer as they have better stopping distances, which is an important factor in accident prevention; fewer collisions are key to less injuries and a lower risk of fatality.
However, 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.
