The R74 road between Harrismith and Oliviershoek, the gateway to the Drakensberg, and the Sani Pass road are both undergoing reconstruction.

The pothole-riddled R74 has been in the news repeatedly as the bad state of the road led to the closure of several tourism establishments in the area. After numerous delays which lasted several years, work on the R74 has now finally taken off.

Vaughn Piccione, Berghouse and Cottages, says the R74 is finally receiving attention from Edwins Construction. Piccione says he is hopeful the contract will be completed within the promised 24 months as this will definitely boost tourism.

Petré Theron, Manager of ATKV Drakensville, is also excited about the latest developments. “I've seen very positive developments. Edwin Construction is on site every day and busy with the road works. They have implemented stop-and-go's and provided us with graded sides on which we can travel. They are busy now with the drainage of the roads.”

However, Jean Carte, Montusi Mountain Lodge, is less confident. “Indeed there has been some work done to smooth out the really badly broken stretches of road,” she says, but adds that there is currently no heavy machinery or obvious progress on the re-surfacing of the road. “We just keep hoping! Tourism is way down and we certainly need more numbers.”

Leona Kleynhans, Democratic Alliance MPL in the Free State Provincial Legislature, says the rehabilitation could just be too little, too late. “We welcome the R74-Oliviershoek reconstruction at a cost of R85m planned for this year, and have noted that the contractor is already on site, however, it is indeed a tragedy that so much damage has already been done to the economy and especially tourism in the region. We hope that when the project is complete in a few years’ time the tourism industry in that area can be rebuilt from scratch.”

However, not everyone has welcomed the tarring of the cultural Sani Pass road. Philip Grant, Southern Secrets Hiking and Backpacking in Lesotho, says the upgraded road will undoubtedly boost tourism to Lesotho via the Sani Pass. However, he warns that the tourist profile will change from those seeking adventure and cultural interaction tourism to visitors wanting more comfort and facilities.

Says Grant: “It may reduce the cultural attractions of this part of the Lesotho Highlands to a ‘human zoo’ with negative implications for the rural traditional culture and the people’s self esteem. For example there may be an increase in begging and ‘posturing’ for tourists. This will mean that visitors seeking ‘adventure and cultural interaction’ (mainly overseas tourists) will have to find and visit more isolated areas of Lesotho.”