Hon Speaker, the City of Johannesburg plans to spend around R2 billion over the next three years on rebuilding and upgrading road infrastructure. The business districts of Sandton and Rosebank, in particular, will be pleased at the news that roads in their areas - not least the M1 and M2 motorways and other key arterial roads - will be a major focus of the renewal programme.
This announcement by Mayor Parks Tau is particularly welcome, given the serious weekday peak-hour gridlock that has taken hold of key areas north of the city, as commercial development and redevelopment continue to outpace infrastructural maintenance and expansion. This investment will make a major contribution to productivity in this economic heartland of our country.
It is also encouraging that Mayor Tau has singled out for special attention the perennial pothole problem, on which Johannesburg will be spending almost R80 million in patching and fixing roads. By turning this problem around, Johannesburg will be restoring lost value to many individual streets, and even entire suburbs, which urgently need road maintenance and development. I thank you. [Applause.]