Road Improvement Programme

The plan to repair the nation’s roads has barely got underway and already the squabbles have started.  Once again it highlights the extent to which politics divides the people and inhibits the growth potential of this country.  Given the large scale of the project there ought to be certain measures in place to ensure fairness in the allocation of scarce resources.

Firstly, there ought to be a list of criterion which is to be used to determine which roads are to be fixed.  Some criterion could be for example, the time since the road was last repaired, whether the road is at risk of being totally destroyed, number of persons who will benefit from the use of the road, nearness to agricultural production points, etc.  These items could then be weighted to come up with a formula for assigning points to each road.  A committee could be established with representatives from both parties and including independent persons.  Applications would then be made by communities in respect of the roads that they want fixed and submitted to the committee.  The committee would then assign the points and rank the projects with the top ranked projects being undertaken.

Secondly, there should be in place a system of accountability to ensure that the money is spent properly perhaps using the contracts oversight committee.  Tenders must be submitted for all projects to be undertaken.  Contractors must be assessed in terms of whether they are qualified to undertake the work, whether they are up to date with all tax and contractor levy payments and to ensure that they have no links to criminal gangs or no criminal convictions.  While the job is being undertaken until when it is finished proper inspection must be done to ensure that the work is of an acceptable standard.  If problems arise after the road is completed and it can be traced to poor work on the part of the contractor then there must be strict enforcement of the rules requiring the contractor to fix or reimburse the cost of fixing the road.

The issue of road repair is not to be an issue of obtaining votes; citizens have the right to decent roads and pay taxes to fund it.  A fairer system works in favour of everyone and ensures that at the end of day the limited resources that we have are carefully and efficiently spent.