The current appalling state of most of the island’s roads, made worse by weeks of persistent rain, has merely served to emphasise the points we have been making for years about the inadequacies associated with the construction and maintenance of the infrastructure.

Just three weeks ago, we argued in this space that the road repair bill, over the past 30 years at least, was most likely in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Most egregiously, as tends to happen in many instances, projects have overshot their budgets and the quality of the work has been so poor that the surfaces either collapsed or disintegrated on first exposure to heavy rain.

Those problems, we reiterate, have their foundation in the use of insufficient material, lack of road construction expertise in some instances, poor maintenance, neglect, and blatant corruption involving kickbacks, as State contracts and road works rank among the best providers of political pork.

In fact, there are politicians who have either lost or gained favour among supporters based on how road contracts, in particular, are awarded. The problem with that is, it feeds corruption exacerbated by the fact that quite a number of these so-called contractors have no clue about proper road construction nor the vital role that drains play in preservation of the surfaces.

On Wednesday, the National Works Agency (NWA) told the country that its road repair and maintenance efforts across the island have been severely impacted by recent and persistent rain.

According to the NWA, “The rains have not only hindered essential maintenance work but have also disrupted the production of materials needed for repairs. Asphalt manufacturers, in particular, are facing difficulties as raw materials are exposed to the elements, which can compromise the quality of the final product if not given adequate time to dry. This is especially critical as the materials used in road projects are highly sensitive to temperature and moisture conditions.”

We acknowledge that roads, which are exposed to the elements, will deteriorate, and the impact of climate change has made this problem worse. However, we put it to the NWA that had the roads been properly constructed, the cost to repair and maintain them now would not be as burdensome. This attempt at public relations spin is not going to cut it.

As it now stands, the Government currently has three road maintenance and repair programmes — the $3-billion Relief Emergency Assistance and Community Help (REACH) programme; the recently launched $1.5-billion constituency-based Maintenance and Clean-up Programme, and the $45-billion tortuously-named Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) project.

The prime minister has told us that the SPARK project is wider than upgrading roads to withstand the impact of climate change and increased rainfall. It includes, he said, the installation of fibre optic ducts to support future broadband connectivity, thus improving the delivery of shared services.

As the prime minister acknowledged recently, decades of neglect and ageing infrastructure spanning more than 30 years cannot be fixed overnight. He is correct.

He now has the opportunity, and the fiscal room, to right this wrong with proper planning, investment, and sustained effort.