FIX ZEMVELO ROAD

I would hereby like to draw your attention to the neglect of the R907 to Ezemvelo Nature Reserve. This road is in poor condition and is having a number of socio-economic impacts on the businesses relying on it as well as the community in the area. Futhermore, over the past year it has fallen on the farming and business community in the area to try and maintain the road as best they can which we feel is unacceptable.
The road is corrugated and has a number of erosion gulleys spanning the width of the road. This coupled with inadequate signage for hazards makes the road hazardous to drive at times.

Community:

Lack of transport as no vehicles are willing to regularly travel the road to collect community members. Community members must hitch hike, walk or bike (for those that have) the 20km to the dirt road.
School busses - the school busses do not operate effectively and often break down on the road leaving children without the basic right of access to education. Furthermore, for the busses to travel on the road, the road should be in an acceptable condition (which it is not) as to insure the safety of children using the service in the area.

Business

Ezemvelo Nature Reserve employs 10 permanent staff and makes use of numerous contract workers during the course of the year, thereby making a substantial contribution in terms of salaries. The road is having an adverse impact on on income as the reserve relies on tourism to fund its operations. With the road in the current condition, we are experiencing loss of clientele who simply will not travel on the road to our property. For example, we hosted an event this year that only drew in 50% of the previous years visitors numbers. When visitors were asked, some said they would not return due to the state of the road.

NPO

Furthermore, Ezemvelo is owned by a section 18 PBO, not for profit organization. The organization educates previously disadvantaged youth at university level (Maharishi Institute.) The above capital impacts from the road directly impact the PBO as they are responsible for covering any losses accrued by the business.

Vehicles

Further capital impact is seen in inputs to vehicle maintenance. Constant repairs to suspension, tyres and other parts (well above normal) are required due to the poor condition of the road.