With over 90% of the world ultra poor living in rural areas, access is essential for sustainable development & poverty eradication through improved livelihoods. However, resource allocations to rural roads are usually inadequate leading to network deterioration.. The selected maintenance system must be efficient, manageable and cost effective. Through the years, different types of maintenance systems have been applied, including group maintenance, length-person executed directly by the executing agency or through the private sector. The widely applied length-person system has shown limitations in managing and keeping the network in acceptable condition. As the network increases it becomes more management intensive and difficult to monitor individual workers performance, at times leading to network deterioration. This is more visible when work is carried out using internal departmental staff. Public private partnership in rural roads maintenance has started showing positive benefit to both the road users and beneficiary communities. The maintenance system developed by the Lesotho Department of Rural Roads is one such example of public private partnership that saw the development and application of an effective maintenance system. Under this maintenance system, private contractors are contracted to keep the road in serviceable condition throughout the contract period. This approach has significantly improved the condition of the rural road network at reduced annual maintenance cost. This paper examines the various rural roads maintenance systems currently applied and analyses effectiveness, efficiency and simplicity in the delivery process. The paper also looks into the sustainability of the maintenance system and its reliance on local resources. For the covering abstract see ITRD E135448.
Abstract