KwaZulu-Natal Amongst the Few Governments in Developing Countries to Upgrade Rural People

In an apparent admission that the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport is indeed amongst the best in the world, a political analyst from a renowned South African academic institution has said that it is not common practice amongst developing countries in the world to spend so much money on rural communities.

On the contrary, it is not a surprise to hear rural people in other parts of the world complaining of a complete lack of access to resources from their governments.

University of Witwatersrand politics department head, Tom Lodge, told the Star newspaper recently: "There are very few governments in the Third World that consciously bias their expenditure towards the countryside."

Between the years 2002 and 2004 alone the Department of Transport in KwaZulu-Natal spent at least R2 billion on new roads and upgrades, writes Ed Stoddard.

This is obviously thanks to the rich legacy of KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sibusiso Ndebele who was reputed as a Transport MEC of note in the country. Ndebele has passed on the torch to an equally aggressive developmental crusader, Bheki Cele (KZN MEC for Transport, Community Safety & Liaison).

Stoddard states in his article in the national newspaper: "Tied to this have been development projects aimed at expanding ecotourism in an area famed for its beauty, beaches and wildlife, and a drive to provide access, energy and clean water to poor rural villages."

Needless to say, KwaZulu-Natal has been one of the leading provinces in the materialisation of the government's priorities i.e. providing rural people with water, lights and roads.

The Star writer found what has become common testimony in the Department's publications on rural poor people whose lives have been touched in a serious and meaningful way by the KZN Department of Transport.

He spoke to a Bongi Nkosi whom he encountered standing proudly by her family house, gushing over an expansion made possible by the provision of roads in the province. Nkosi said: "I used to have a one-room house, but now it is six rooms," she said.

Stoddard adds: "Like many people in KwaZulu-Natal, Nkosi has benefited from a massive government road building campaign that has transformed transportation, created jobs and tourism opportunities, and taken a swipe at poverty."

Work in progress on the upgrading of roads in the province

Before and after construction

Nkosi, who works at the Sibaya Lake Lodge, says her income has risen because road improvements have made it possible for more tourists to visit Sibaya Lake Lodge. That has enabled her and her husband to expand their home.

Commented another rural resident, Jeff Zikhali, who works at the same lodge: "It is better now with the road. You used to take a bus or a taxi and it would drop you very far from your home."

Stoddard observes: "To anyone who has travelled to KwaZulu-Natal's remote regions over the past few years, the results are nothing short of startling. Many people here are experiencing the joys of a paved road for the first time and the difference that it makes in their lives."

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