Bridge the Gap: Ekurhuleni potholes despicable

The purpose of my travels is to engage suburban communities on service delivery issues and make Ekurhuleni a better place for all. Unfortunately this has become a very expensive expedition.

There is nothing more dangerous on the road than a pothole. Recently I have come to fear potholes more than Eskom’s load shedding. I lost two tires this year thanks to road hazards and potholes has become my new pet hate!

I was raised in a very religious home and hating was not really part of my upbringing, but potholes are despicable. I can’t believe the state of roads in Ekurhuleni. Unfortunately I cannot blame poor maintenance from the Roads department.

To bridge this gap it is important to inform residents the lack of maintenance is not to blame for the current state of roads, but rather the bad weather. Roads are quite robust, but like most other things, roads are not immune to the forces of nature. Rain is really not good for roads, and water is like cancer for the surface bed of a road.

Explaining what the root causes of the bad roads are, is not going to fix the problem. Ekurhuleni has established a roads task team, and there is now an action plan on the horizon to repair our roads.

The Ekurhuleni adjustment budget approved last month by the Metro Council allocated a large chunk of money to the roads and transport department to focus on the problem. Both on the Capital and Operational budget adjustments were made to ensure financial resources were redirected at the construction and repair of our roads. This is however an on-going process, and I will definitely push for more resources to be allocated for road maintenance in the new budget.

The Ekurhuleni finance department is currently compiling the draft budget for 2015/2016. Part of this process is to direct public funds and resources to departments that will deliver services to the community. Roads is one of the core competencies of local government, and the allocation of funds for roads will be a budget priority on the 2015/2016 budget. The Executive Mayor has also launched a campaign aimed at improving the general state of roads in Ekurhuleni.

I will keep residents updated on the progress of building better roads for all. Please follow me on Twitter @neildiamond7 for regular municipal updates.