Human rights commission proposes once-off fuel levy to fix horrific Eastern Cape roads

The state of some of the roads visited by the team from the South African Human Rights Commission. (Photo: Supplied)

30 Oct 2024

Eastern Cape communities finally won in their fight against horrific roads in the province after the South African Human Rights Commission ordered the national and provincial governments to intervene urgently, ring-fence funds, and implement accountability measures.

The South African Human Rights Commission has urged the Treasury to urgently investigate levying a once-off fuel tax to fix the Eastern Cape’s roads.

Describing the dire situation regarding roads in the province, the provincial manager of the commission, Dr Eileen Carter, said that given that the average cost of upgrading a single kilometre of road (to a new, high-traffic road) was about R18-million, this budget allowed the province to upgrade only 42 kilometres of road per year.

Evidence before the commission shows that 29.4% of the province’s untarred roads have been classified as very poor. The total capital backlog for the province’s road network stands at R30.5-billion.

Read more: R3.8bn a year – how much the Eastern Cape needs to fix potholes and maintain roads

The commission found that the bad roads, bridges, and culverts in the province violate a host of human rights, including communities’ right to access healthcare, education, and dignity.

It recommends that the National Treasury conduct a comprehensive feasibility study on a proposed fuel levy to raise funds for fixing the roads. This study would include its potential economic impact, revenue generation, and public acceptance.

“The levy should be accompanied by transparent reporting mechanisms to ensure that funds are used exclusively for the intended purpose,” the report read.

“Treasury should allocate targeted funding through a special infrastructure development grant specifically aimed at road paving and rehabilitation in the Eastern Cape. This funding should be ring-fenced to prevent diversion to other projects, and should be disbursed with strict timelines and accountability measures to ensure prompt and effective utilisation,” the commissioners said.

One of the roads visited by a team from the South African Human Rights Commission. (Photo: Supplied)

Many of the province's roads are in a state of disrepair. (Photo: Supplied)

The report’s author, Commissioner Philile Ntuli, described the months of testimony before the South African Human Rights Commission: “These are not just stories of inconvenience; they are testimonies to the violation of basic human rights — the right to life, to dignity, to education, to healthcare, to safety and security. Despite numerous policy interventions and governmental efforts, the current situation in the Eastern Cape remains dire.”

The report continued: “Throughout the inquiry, the commission has been confronted with harrowing stories of communities cut off from essential services, farmers struggling to bring their produce to market, children risking their lives on dangerous, dilapidated roads just to reach school, and countless others whose daily lives are a constant struggle against the consequences of infrastructural neglect.”

Commissioners further described hearing evidence of how bad roads had left communities isolated, economies stunted, and the most vulnerable populations deprived of their fundamental human rights.

The communities whose complaints led to this report are:

A complaint was lodged in November 2019 on behalf of the Mantlaneni community, in Lusikisiki. Their access road is severely dilapidated, significantly affecting the transportation of pupils in the area and access to the Hlababomvu police station and Mantlaneni Clinic. The provincial Department of Transport did not respond when asked about the road.

The Zigududu community in Cofimvaba complained to the South African Human Rights Commission that their road was so bad that vehicles, including ambulances and the police, could no longer travel there. Scholar transportation is also affected, as the road becomes impassable during wet weather, even by minibus taxis, resulting in learners' inability to attend school. The Department of Transport engaged with the communities but did nothing, saying it had no money.

Communities living in Butterworth first complained to the Mnquma Local Municipality that they could not reach their local hospital, the Thafalofefe Hospital, from Butterworth. It is the only healthcare facility in the Centane region. The condition of the road renders the hospital inaccessible during inclement weather. The municipality also did not respond to a letter from the commission.

The Gwatyu farms community in Komani filed a complaint about the R351 access road in Gwatyu. It is so bad that ambulances and the police can no longer use it, and taxis transporting learners can’t drive there in wet weather. Despite lodging numerous complaints with the Chris Hani District Municipality, the community has not seen any improvements.

In 2021, Gcibhala Village, situated in Tsomo under the Intsika Yethu Municipality, filed a complaint that they had to fix their road themselves because cars could no longer drive there. Emergency services, including ambulances and the police, could also not access the area. Scholar transportation was also affected, and villagers had to carry sick people and deceased bodies to another village to get access to an ambulance. No response was received from the municipality.

“The futility of past attempts, without significant, bold, and innovative strategies, suggests that the province will remain in its current state of disrepair. The commission is unequivocally convinced that without out-of-the-box thinking, collaborative efforts across all levels of government, and a firm commitment to change, the Eastern Cape will continue to lag behind, perpetuating the cycle of poverty and inequality. Yet, this is not just a provincial issue — it is a national concern. Every stakeholder, from the national government to local municipalities, from private sector partners to civil society, must recognise that the time to act is not in some distant future, but now.

“It is not a question of ‘if’ the Eastern Cape will improve, but ‘how soon’ we can mobilise the necessary resources, political will, and collective action to make it happen. The adoption of the commission’s recommendations is not just a step towards improving road infrastructure — it is a crucial move towards restoring the dignity and rights of the people of the Eastern Cape,” the report continued.

Carter said the government and other entities cited in the report would have 60 days to respond.

Read more: ‘We just want a tar road’ – Eastern Cape’s Elliotdale residents express their plight in protest

The report added that bringing the Eastern Cape’s infrastructure up to par with other provinces would foster much-needed economic development and prosperity in the province.

Once again, as many political leaders have done before, including current Premier Oscar Mabuyane, the South African Human Rights Commission also called for a review of the equitable share formula (how the Treasury calculates how much money each province receives), with particular attention to infrastructure needs in underdeveloped provinces like the Eastern Cape.

“This review should consider factors such as historical underinvestment, population outmigration, and the need for infrastructure as a catalyst for economic recovery and growth. Based on this review, a revised funding model should be proposed that allocates additional resources to regions with significant infrastructure deficits, ensuring a more balanced and equitable distribution of national resources,” the report added.

Another stretch of road visited by the team. (Photo: Supplied)

The total capital backlog for the province's road network stands at R30.5-billion. (Photo: Supplied)

However, the commissioners also mentioned that corruption poses a “significant threat to democracy and the rule of law, signifying a deficit in ethical leadership and the breakdown of institutions tasked with upholding good governance standards”.

“In South Africa’s political landscape, the practice of politically deploying individuals into key positions has influenced hiring strategies. This approach is believed to have cascading effects, contributing to incidents of fraud and nepotism. Corrupt practices have particularly affected local

government, leading to the misappropriation of funds and other misconduct. For instance, during the 2012 to 2013 fiscal year, contracts worth approximately R 3.374-billion were awarded to family members, illustrating the scale of the issue. Similarly, a well-functioning and well-governed society that seeks to maximise its developmental potential and the welfare of its residents requires an efficient public service. Inadequate governance, manifested through a lack of accountability and ineffective consequence management, has significantly undermined good governance in the realm of local government, thereby endangering the provision of essential services.

Governance deficit

“This governance deficit is starkly evident in the intervention or administration imposed on 23 municipalities in (the province) in 2021, a number that increased to 33 by February 2022. These interventions underscore the severe deterioration of many municipalities.

“The South African Human Rights Commission’s inquiry into the state of road infrastructure in the Eastern Cape has laid bare a stark reality — one that speaks to a legacy of inequality, deeply rooted in the apartheid era, which continues to manifest in the profound disparities between provinces. The Eastern Cape, historically marginalised, remains trapped in a cycle of underdevelopment and neglect. The backlogs in road infrastructure, compounded by insufficient funding and inadequate maintenance, have left communities isolated, economies stunted, and the most vulnerable populations deprived of their fundamental human rights,” the report continued.

“The journey to remedy these injustices is long, but it is one that must begin immediately, with the full weight of our collective determination and resolve,” the commissioners said. DM

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