R5.36m to fix minister's road

2010-01-26 20:14

Pietermaritzburg - The KwaZulu-Natal government spent R5.36m tarring a section of lightly used road past the country home of Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele, but neglected the maintenance of another busy, dangerous road, the KwaZulu-Natal High Court heard on Tuesday.

The road past the minister's home was upgraded in the 2004/05 financial year, according to official documents handed to the court.

At the same time, Church of Scotland hospital chef Hluphile Zuma lost part of her arm when her taxi hit a pothole and overturned on the Keate's Drift/Tugela Ferry road.

She is claiming compensation from the KwaZulu-Natal government.

The documents about the roads had been requested by Zuma's counsel. They were brought to court on Monday.

The government opposes the claim, contending, among other things, that the budget constraints limited the amount of maintenance work.

On Tuesday, Judge Jan Combrink and counsel in the case conducted an inspection in loco of the road past Ndebele's home.
 

- SAPA