Swaziland needs R662m to repair road

Mbabane – Swaziland will be hard-pressed to meet the cost of upgrading the country’s most accidentprone stretch of highway to reduce accidents, but at least a price has been established. R662 million is required to rehabilitate the Malagwane Hill section of the MR3 highway east of Mbabane. The switch-back road is the site of weekly accidents, one of which one year ago caused such havoc that a commission of inquiry was assembled to quell a public outcry. One year later the commission released a report that did more than explain the fatal accident that closed the road. It also recommended ways to make the perennially dangerous, steeply descending portion of road more user-friendly, albeit at considerable expense. Part of the cost of making the Malagwane Hill section of the MR3 safer could come from savings incurred from accidents that have been avoided, suggested the report.