In the heart of South Africa lies Mpumalanga, a province brimming with natural beauty, economic promise, and untapped human potential.
It should be a launchpad for inclusive growth, thanks to its proximity to regional markets, vibrant tourism economy, and agricultural assets. But instead, Mpumalanga is increasingly defined by a crisis of infrastructure, most visibly, its crumbling roads.
Across the province, roads that once connected opportunity are now “roads to nowhere” potholed, impassable, and neglected. The implications of this go far beyond transport. Our economy is being suffocated. Schools and clinics are increasingly out of reach. Tourists are turning away. And young people are cut off from the very opportunities that should define their future.
This collapse of basic infrastructure is not just a provincial failure. It is a national failure — and a direct indictment of the Government of National Unity (GNU), which, nearly a year into its term, has delivered no visible improvements in infrastructure, service delivery, or public accountability.
When the GNU was formed after the 2024 elections, it promised a “new era” of cooperation, clean governance, and accelerated delivery. Citizens were told that political divisions had been set aside to focus on what really matters: fixing the economy, restoring trust, and delivering basic services.
But on the ground, especially in provinces like Mpumalanga, those promises have rung hollow.
We are now approaching one year of the GNU, and yet the daily lived experience of ordinary people has not changed. If anything, it has worsened. Roads are deteriorating. Corruption in procurement continues unchecked. Local contractors with political ties are still rewarded with multimillion-rand tenders for doing substandard work. Oversight is as weak as ever, and the communities who bear the brunt of this dysfunction have been left to fend for themselves.
In other words, we’ve seen a change in rhetoric, but not in results.
The state of our roads is one of the clearest indicators of a government’s priorities, or lack thereof. In Mpumalanga, critical corridors in areas like Bushbuckridge, Nkomazi, and Dr JS Moroka have become practically undrivable. Rural roads turn to rivers during the rainy season, cutting off entire communities from hospitals, schools, and markets.
This is not just an inconvenience. It is a daily, grinding injustice.
Children risk their lives walking long distances to reach school. Pregnant women are forced to give birth at home when ambulances can’t reach them. Farmers lose produce because they can’t get to market. And tourism businesses, once a source of jobs and growth, are watching their bookings drop as visitors avoid unsafe, degraded routes.
These are not abstract concerns. They are human consequences of government neglect. And the GNU, with its grand coalition and broad mandate, has so far failed to confront this crisis with the urgency it demands.
One of the most dangerous outcomes of the GNU is that it has created the illusion of progress. By uniting former rivals under the same umbrella, the government appears more stable. But beneath that stability lies a growing rot: bureaucracy without reform, budgets without results, and unity without delivery.
Nowhere is this more evident than in infrastructure. For all the talk of economic revitalisation, the same politically connected contractors still benefit. The same departments still issue tenders without transparency. And the same communities continue to wait for the roads that were promised years ago and are still undelivered.
If this is what “national unity” looks like, it’s hard to see how it differs from what came before.
Mpumalanga’s road crisis is not simply a result of incompetence; it’s the product of a system that rewards failure and punishes accountability.
The Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport continues to award tenders to companies that cannot deliver. Contracts are signed, budgets allocated, and yet potholes multiply and gravel roads are graded just once a year, usually just before an election. Communities report shoddy work. Nothing happens. Officials go unpunished.
The GNU has done little to dismantle this system of patronage. In fact, by broadening its political alliances, it has in many ways entrenched it, accommodating more stakeholders without reforming the underlying procurement culture.
If the GNU is serious about turning the tide, it must act now, and act decisively.
- Transparent Procurement: Every road contract awarded must be published, with clear deliverables and timelines. Communities must be able to see who got the contract, what they were paid, and whether they delivered.
- Public Oversight: Ward committees and civic groups must be empowered to track road projects in their areas. The days of paper-only oversight and backdoor extensions must end.
- Focus on Strategic Corridors: Tourism routes, school access roads, and rural health transport corridors should be declared high-priority and maintained year-round.
- Independent Monitoring: An independent infrastructure audit body should be created to review all provincial projects annually and publish its findings publicly, free from political interference.
- Political Will: Most importantly, the GNU must show political will. This means rooting out procurement corruption, blacklisting failed contractors, and holding MECs and mayors accountable for delivery, or lack thereof.
Every day that goes by without reform is another day a child risks their safety walking to school, another patient misses treatment, another small business shuts its doors, and another community loses hope.
These are not just roads to nowhere. They are symbols of broken promises, both provincial and national. The GNU can no longer claim the benefit of the doubt. It must choose: deliver or step aside.
If the government cannot build roads that connect people to opportunity, it has no business speaking of transformation, inclusion, or growth.
Mpumalanga deserves better. South Africa deserves better.
Under the GNU, Mpumalanga’s Roads Still Lead Nowhere
In the heart of South Africa lies Mpumalanga, a province brimming with natural beauty, economic promise, and untapped human potential.
It should be a launchpad for inclusive growth, thanks to its proximity to regional markets, vibrant tourism economy, and agricultural assets. But instead, Mpumalanga is increasingly defined by a crisis of infrastructure, most visibly, its crumbling roads.
Across the province, roads that once connected opportunity are now “roads to nowhere” potholed, impassable, and neglected. The implications of this go far beyond transport. Our economy is being suffocated. Schools and clinics are increasingly out of reach. Tourists are turning away. And young people are cut off from the very opportunities that should define their future.
This collapse of basic infrastructure is not just a provincial failure. It is a national failure — and a direct indictment of the Government of National Unity (GNU), which, nearly a year into its term, has delivered no visible improvements in infrastructure, service delivery, or public accountability.
When the GNU was formed after the 2024 elections, it promised a “new era” of cooperation, clean governance, and accelerated delivery. Citizens were told that political divisions had been set aside to focus on what really matters: fixing the economy, restoring trust, and delivering basic services.
But on the ground, especially in provinces like Mpumalanga, those promises have rung hollow.
We are now approaching one year of the GNU, and yet the daily lived experience of ordinary people has not changed. If anything, it has worsened. Roads are deteriorating. Corruption in procurement continues unchecked. Local contractors with political ties are still rewarded with multimillion-rand tenders for doing substandard work. Oversight is as weak as ever, and the communities who bear the brunt of this dysfunction have been left to fend for themselves.
In other words, we’ve seen a change in rhetoric, but not in results.
The state of our roads is one of the clearest indicators of a government’s priorities, or lack thereof. In Mpumalanga, critical corridors in areas like Bushbuckridge, Nkomazi, and Dr JS Moroka have become practically undrivable. Rural roads turn to rivers during the rainy season, cutting off entire communities from hospitals, schools, and markets.
This is not just an inconvenience. It is a daily, grinding injustice.
Children risk their lives walking long distances to reach school. Pregnant women are forced to give birth at home when ambulances can’t reach them. Farmers lose produce because they can’t get to market. And tourism businesses, once a source of jobs and growth, are watching their bookings drop as visitors avoid unsafe, degraded routes.
These are not abstract concerns. They are human consequences of government neglect. And the GNU, with its grand coalition and broad mandate, has so far failed to confront this crisis with the urgency it demands.
One of the most dangerous outcomes of the GNU is that it has created the illusion of progress. By uniting former rivals under the same umbrella, the government appears more stable. But beneath that stability lies a growing rot: bureaucracy without reform, budgets without results, and unity without delivery.
Nowhere is this more evident than in infrastructure. For all the talk of economic revitalisation, the same politically connected contractors still benefit. The same departments still issue tenders without transparency. And the same communities continue to wait for the roads that were promised years ago and are still undelivered.
If this is what “national unity” looks like, it’s hard to see how it differs from what came before.
Mpumalanga’s road crisis is not simply a result of incompetence; it’s the product of a system that rewards failure and punishes accountability.
The Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport continues to award tenders to companies that cannot deliver. Contracts are signed, budgets allocated, and yet potholes multiply and gravel roads are graded just once a year, usually just before an election. Communities report shoddy work. Nothing happens. Officials go unpunished.
The GNU has done little to dismantle this system of patronage. In fact, by broadening its political alliances, it has in many ways entrenched it, accommodating more stakeholders without reforming the underlying procurement culture.
If the GNU is serious about turning the tide, it must act now, and act decisively.
Every day that goes by without reform is another day a child risks their safety walking to school, another patient misses treatment, another small business shuts its doors, and another community loses hope.
These are not just roads to nowhere. They are symbols of broken promises, both provincial and national. The GNU can no longer claim the benefit of the doubt. It must choose: deliver or step aside.
If the government cannot build roads that connect people to opportunity, it has no business speaking of transformation, inclusion, or growth.
Mpumalanga deserves better. South Africa deserves better.