Launching the annual October Transport Month, the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Transport on Monday unveiled 55 new trucks fitted with pothole-repairing equipment that will significantly improve turnaround time in addressing pothole patching in the province.
“As from today, these trucks will crisscross the province patching potholes in all our districts in a fast and effective operation,” said the department.
These trucks form part of the provincial government’s S’thesha Waya Waya (meaning “working throughout”) initiative, which aims to “end unemployment, poverty, and inequality” through job creation for a total of 17,000 employees.
Supporting the rollout of S’thesha Waya Waya, KZN premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube is issuing appointment letters to more than 270 road workers and engineering employees this week who will be responsible for accompanying the pothole-repairing trucks on their daily journeys.
The KZN launch of October Transport Month will integrate various additional aspects, including increased law enforcement across the province.
“This year’s October Transport Month Campaign is being rolled out under the theme: Siyakha – Building better infrastructure to grow South Africa together!,” , said the department.
KZN is getting new number plates
The pothole-repairing trucks are the second in a line of major initiatives the KZN Department of Transport announced in recent months.
At the start of September, the department began the process of introducing new number plates to the province due to the current designations being outdated in terms of registering authority boundaries.
It highlighted that there is an “urgent need” to introduce a new provincial licence plate as some geographic areas in which these plates were registered no longer accurately reflect where the vehicles are kept, including the designations for Durban, Pinetown, Port Shepstone, Richards Bay, and Pietermaritzburg.
The provincial transport department therefore met with delegates from the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) and the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) on 6 September to request assistance in expediting the implementation process through system enhancements and changes on the national traffic database (NaTis).
This consultation only marks the first step in the implementation process, however, as the KZN Transport Department must still engage with other relevant stakeholders before outlining the final specifications and processes.
Once finalised with the meetings, the new alphanumeric format for KZN’s number plates will be selected by the MEC for Transport, Sipho Hlomuka, in accordance with Regulation 27 (1) and (2) of the National Road Traffic Act.
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