LOUIS TRICHARDT - A meeting of all stakeholders is to be held soon to clarify wide spread confusion about a surprise prohibition on heavy vehicles on certain provincial roads.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Province Road Agency, Mr Bohani Shibambu says such a meeting seems to be necessary to afford all concerned the opportunity to be correctly informed and to exchange views on the matter.

Mr Shibambu reacted on the widespread astonishment, confusion, frustration and discontent over large road signs erected along the N1 in the vicinity of Louis Trichardt, prohibiting heavy vehicles from travelling on the Vivo/Dendron and Waterpoort roads. The signs threaten with a fine of R10 000 for non-compliance.

Transport companies and commercial farming enterprise in the Blouberg, Vivo, Waterpoort, Alldays, Mopane and Musina area were infuriated with the prohibition, which they described as one-sided, short-sighted, dictatorial and potentially disastrous. Frustrated motorists also complained of serious pile-ups behind heavily loaded trucks forced onto the N1 over the mountain.

The Soutpansberg District Agricultural Union expressed astonishment over the prohibitions, which run contrary to their official requests to the provincial authorities to remove heavy vehicle transport where possible from the N1, in the interest of general road safety and a free flow of traffic. The Agricultural Union expressed concern over the lack of transparency and the fact that such drastic measures were introduced without prior consultation with major stakeholders.

Other stakeholders, who were neither consulted nor informed, expressed surprise over the erection of such signage along the N1 Tollroad, regulating traffic on provincial roads, which are not under the jurisdiction of the South African National Road Agency.

The erection of the signs came as a surprise to even some official stakeholders. A senior spokesperson for the National Department of Roads denied any knowledge of the signage. A senior representative of the Provincial Road Maintenance Branch of the Public Works Department, Me Emily Khunu also denied any knowledge of the erection of the signs.

The public relations officer of the South African National Roads Agency, Me Judith Aneke confirmed that her Agency erected the signs at the request of the Provincial Roads Agency. This was confirmed by the spokesperson for the Provincial Department of Works, Mr Elvis Mavuso.

Mr Shibambu of the Provincial Roads Agency explained that a prohibition on heavy vehicle traffic on various roads in the province became necessary because these roads were not designed for heavy vehicles.

"When these roads are used by big trucks they deteriorate very quickly and the only remedy is to scrape the road off and rebuild it. That is a very costly process. We already have a backlog of R 2, 6 billion for roads in the province and such upgrading is therefore completely impossible. In order to protect the little assets we have, we should therefore try to make do with the little we have. Therefore we say that heavy vehicles use the N1 and other similar routes, which have been suggested."

Mr Shibambu was informed that the reaction of provincial traffic inspectors to the signage also seems to indicate total confusion. According to first indications, traffic officials warned the farmers that they would be fined if their heavy vehicles were found on these roads. This is tantamount to harassing farmers in the area who have no other route to access their markets.

Mr Shibambu said this confusion would have to be clarified. The restrictions should not affect heavy vehicles transporting business or farming enterprise in the specific area. It should only affect passing traffic like international traffic.

"There could be a misunderstanding about who is allowed and who is not. We will meet with the transport department whose responsibility it is to enforce the prohibition to make sure that people who are not supposed to be included in the prohibition are not prosecuted. What we need to do is obviously to meet with the stakeholders to see how we can accommodate them all," Mr Shibambu said.

He took note of the fact that heavy vehicles, which normally, before the prohibition, would have chosen the Waterpoort detour to avoid the steep mountain pass, are now seriously interfering with traffic flow across the mountain, causing frustration and safety hazards.

On remarks that a lack of maintenance, rather than heavy vehicle transport was the cause of potholes and deterioration on, for instance, the Vivo road, Mr Shibambu replied that the maintenance team could hardly cope, mainly as a result of financial constraints.

"On average we need approximately R320 million for road maintenance in the province, whereas we have only R82 million," Mr Shibambu explained.