Our roads are in a parlous state and we face another Eskom-like crisis unless the government starts spending billions of rands on them.

Our roads are in a parlous state and we face another Eskom-like crisis unless the government starts spending billions of rands on them.

There is never enough money for all the services that competing interests demand. So the ANC can be excused for diverting funds from infrastructure to transform an abnormal country.

But we cannot continue living off apartheid's capital forever. Eskom's electricity crisis has taught us that investment and maintenance of the national infrastructure cannot be ignored forever.

Now it's time for hardnosed frugal governance. The infrastructure that makes us the most dynamic economy in Africa mut be maintained and improved - and that includes our road network.