IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/adi/ijbess/v7y2025i2p470-478.html

Road infrastructure in South Africa: What is missing? Road infrastrucure

Author

Listed:
  • Bulelwa Maphela

    (University of Johannesburg, South Africa)

  • Eyitayo Francis Adanlawo

    (North-West University)

Abstract

Road’s infrastructure is regarded as an essential factor to achieve development goals. It is recorded that most people living in the rural areas are constrained by poor road infrastructure, thereby causing poverty, hunger, and food insecurity. This situation calls for more investments in road infrastructure to promote agricultural activities. Using systematic review method, this study reviewed literature pertaining to road infrastructure in South Africa, the review focused on the importance, benefits, and present state of road infrastructure and the socio-economic effects of poor road infrastructure. The study revealed that Most South African roads are in bad shape, especially roads in the rural areas. due to lack of qualified personnel to manage road infrastructure, government regulations and policies and financial challenges. The implications of this study's findings are substantial for future research. Firstly, in order to ensure the timely delivery of infrastructure construction projects, the study's findings are expected to provide guidance to decision-makers and stakeholders in South Africa and other nations on how to proactively implement measures to provide and maintain sustainable, good road infrastructure. Key Words:Local economic development (LED), Road infrastructure, Rural areas, Municipality, Construction delays

Suggested Citation

  • Bulelwa Maphela & Eyitayo Francis Adanlawo, 2025. "Road infrastructure in South Africa: What is missing? Road infrastrucure," International Journal of Business Ecosystem & Strategy (2687-2293), Bussecon International Academy, vol. 7(2), pages 470-478, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:adi:ijbess:v:7:y:2025:i:2:p:470-478
    DOI: 10.36096/ijbes.v7i2.738
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.bussecon.com/ojs/index.php/ijbes/article/view/738/462
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://doi.org/10.36096/ijbes.v7i2.738
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.36096/ijbes.v7i2.738?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sinqobile I Mncwango & Eyitayo Francis Adanlawo & Makhosazana Faith Vezi-Magigaba, 2024. "Training interventions that enhance entrepreneurship self-efficacy among unemployed youth: A South Africa perspective," International Journal of Business Ecosystem & Strategy (2687-2293), Bussecon International Academy, vol. 6(4), pages 113-121, September.
    2. Mpho Chaka & Eyitayo Francis Adanlawo, 2024. "The Role of Communication in Nation-Building: A Theoretical Framework for South African National Unity," Studies in Media and Communication, Redfame publishing, vol. 12(3), pages 325-334, September.
    3. Birgit A Greiner & Caleb Leduc & Cliodhna O’Brien & Johanna Cresswell-Smith & Reiner Rugulies & Kristian Wahlbeck & Kahar Abdulla & Benedikt L Amann & Arlinda Cerga Pashoja & Evelien Coppens & Paul Co, 2022. "The effectiveness of organisational-level workplace mental health interventions on mental health and wellbeing in construction workers: A systematic review and recommended research agenda," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(11), pages 1-23, November.
    4. Shohei Nakamura & Tom Bundervoet & Mohammed Nuru, 2020. "Rural Roads, Poverty, and Resilience: Evidence from Ethiopia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(10), pages 1838-1855, October.
    5. Ankitha Vijayakumar & Muhammad Nateque Mahmood & Argaw Gurmu & Imriyas Kamardeen & Shafiq Alam, 2024. "Social sustainability assessment of road infrastructure: a systematic literature review," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 1039-1069, April.
    6. Piotr Prus & Marek Sikora, 2021. "The Impact of Transport Infrastructure on the Sustainable Development of the Region—Case Study," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-15, March.
    7. Incham Manggat & Rajwani Zain & Zakiyah Jamaluddin, 2018. "The Impact of Infrastructure Development on Rural Communities: A Literature Review," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 8(1), pages 647-658, January.
    8. José R. Bucheli & Alok K. Bohara & Kira Villa, 2018. "Paths to Development? Rural Roads and Multidimensional Poverty in the Hills and Plains of Nepal," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(3), pages 430-456, April.
    9. Aggarwal, Shilpa, 2018. "Do rural roads create pathways out of poverty? Evidence from India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 375-395.
    10. Nomusa Yolanda Nkomo & Eyitayo Francis Adanlawo, 2024. "The impact of unemployment on alcohol consumption: A panel data analysis," International Journal of Innovative Research and Scientific Studies, Innovative Research Publishing, vol. 7(4), pages 1365-1373.
    11. Liaqat Ali & Jianing Mi & Mussawar Shah & Syed Jamal Shah & Salim Khan & Rizwan Ullah & Kausar Bibi, 2018. "Local residents’ attitude towards road and transport infrastructure (a case of China Pakistan economic corridor)," Journal of Chinese Economic and Foreign Trade Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(1), pages 104-120, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chakrabarti, Sandip, 2025. "Rural roads and economic development: Insights from India," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 305-318.
    2. Noah Kaiser & Christina K. Barstow, 2022. "Rural Transportation Infrastructure in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Review of Impacts, Implications, and Interventions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-48, February.
    3. Bolivar, Osmar & Canavire Bacarreza, Gustavo & Balthrop, Andrew, 2026. "Hit the Road Juan: Welfare and Labor Market Effects of High-Quality Roads in Ecuador," IZA Discussion Papers 18451, IZA Network @ LISER.
    4. Jia Li, 2025. "Chinese Aid for Transportation Infrastructure and Child Health in Africa," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(12), pages 2255-2269, December.
    5. Xie, Lin & Wang, Shaozhuang & Yan, Lingxiao, 2024. "Distributional effects of expressway access on rural entrepreneurial activities in China," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    6. Djemaï, Elodie & Clark, Andrew E. & D’Ambrosio, Conchita, 2024. "Take the Highway? Paved roads and well-being in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    7. Yang Zhou & Chunyang Tong & Yongsheng Wang, 2022. "Road construction, economic growth, and poverty alleviation in China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 1306-1332, September.
    8. Han, Yajie & Pkhikidze, Nino & Qin, Yu & Yang, Yi, 2025. "Rural Roads and Local Economic Development in China," Policy Research Working Paper Series 11212, The World Bank.
    9. Fikile Xaba & Eyitayo Francis Adanlawo & Mpho Chaka, 2025. "Exploring higher education policies regulating breastfeeding on university campuses: implications for the wellbeing of women academics," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 14(2), pages 325-331, March.
    10. Sinqobile I Mncwango & Eyitayo Francis Adanlawo & Makhosazana Faith Vezi-Magigaba, 2024. "Training interventions that enhance entrepreneurship self-efficacy among unemployed youth: A South Africa perspective," International Journal of Business Ecosystem & Strategy (2687-2293), Bussecon International Academy, vol. 6(4), pages 113-121, September.
    11. Suchi Kapoor Malhotra & Howard White & Nina Ashley O. Dela Cruz & Ashrita Saran & John Eyers & Denny John & Ella Beveridge & Nina Blöndal, 2021. "Studies of the effectiveness of transport sector interventions in low‐ and middle‐income countries: An evidence and gap map," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(4), December.
    12. Pkhikidze,Nino, 2024. "Connectivity, Road Quality, and Jobs : Evidence from Armenia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10847, The World Bank.
    13. Yang Yang & Teng Huang & Tianjun Liu, 2024. "Do place‐based policies impact residents’ nutrient intake? Evidence from China," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 55(5), pages 871-894, September.
    14. Daniel A. Mekonnen & Olutayo Adeyemi & Rachel Gilbert & Dare Akerele & Thom Achterbosch & Anna Herforth, 2023. "Affordability of healthy diets is associated with increased food systems performance in Nigeria: state-level analysis," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-27, December.
    15. Mingzhi Xu, 2020. "Globalization, the skill premium, and income distribution: the role of selection into entrepreneurship," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 156(3), pages 633-668, August.
    16. Seebacher, Moritz, 2023. "Infrastructure and Girls' Education: Bicycles, Roads, and the Gender Education Gap in India," VfS Annual Conference 2023 (Regensburg): Growth and the "sociale Frage" 277569, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    17. Chanda, Areendam & Kabiraj, Sujana, 2020. "Shedding light on regional growth and convergence in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    18. Xuehui Han & Jiaqi Su & Jang Ping Thia, 2021. "Impact of infrastructure investment on developed and developing economies," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 54(4), pages 995-1024, November.
    19. Seebacher, Moritz, 2023. "Pathways to progress: The complementarity of bicycles and road infrastructure for girls’ education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    20. Cucu, Florin, 2025. "Roads, internal migration and the spatial sorting of U.S. high-skill workers," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:adi:ijbess:v:7:y:2025:i:2:p:470-478. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Umit Hacioglu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ibihutr.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.