THE ROAD TO PERDITION

TROUKLER

THE ROAD TO PERDITION

It is generally agreed that the road from Glacis leading to Beau Vallon is one of the worst roads around Mahe at present. Although the road leads to remarkable 5 star hotels, good restaurants and pristine beaches frequented by a number of our tourists, the roads on this part of the island are derelict and neglected by the Road Transport Division. It hardly creates a good first impression on our visitors.

The stretch of road in question is full of pot holes, patches and bumps and is really hazardous to motorists and pedestrians alike. A few years ago, whilst still a member of the National Assembly Mr. James Mancham had proposed an amendment to the Road Transport Act to enable motorists to claim damages from the Government when accidents occurred as a result of the state of the road. This motion was passed unanimously and a provision was incorporated in our laws to accommodate it. However, legal experts have opined that it is difficult to prove that an accident happened because of defective roads and there has not been any cases brought under these statutory provisions to date.

The government has placed emphasis on work which provides for roadside drains and gutters to release the water which clogs the road during the rainy season and work in progress in Victoria and Glacis have been quite visible. Although the government must be commended for these works, the resurfacing of the tarmac roads in certain areas of Mahe should also be attended to as a matter of urgency and priority as the situation is critical. Possibly because of the foreign exchange shortage maintenance of the roads, like many other things, has suffered from neglect and dereliction.

Despite the tarmac surfaced roads on the mainland Mahe, being relatively small in quantity for the country as a whole, the Land Transport Division has struggled to maintain, repair and keep the roads well surfaced. Although it acquired a new machine a few years ago to improve the general scheme of things and sent the old one to Praslin, the much awaited road improvement has not materialised. Heavy rainfall and use of the roads by bigger and heavier vehicles as well as the constant and repetitious use by the Tata buses have been known to reap havoc on our roads.

Thus the need for more frequent and regular maintenance works at shorter intervals. The Principal Secretary reacting recently to one of this newspaper’s articles (“Victoria’s Infernal Traffic Jams”) which raised concerns about the rapid rise in traffic jams around the congested roads of Victoria, stated on national television that the government is aware of the problem and promised that plans to build new road diversions in and around Victoria to ease the traffic congestion were being devised. However, this will take time and the immediate and pressing need is to maintain what we have whilst waiting for new roads to be built. President James Michel also promised an additional new highway when he opened the first one leading to Seychelles International Airport on the 16th June 2000. This has also not seen the light of day to date.

With the construction of 2000 new houses at Ile Perseverance and plans to build additional housing estates around the Victoria suburbs, there is a pressing need to resolve our road problems.

Editor’s note: You can bet it won’t be ‘no royal road’!