This is according to DA Whip and Tembisa councillor Johann Jordaan.
Jordaan said that, according to information obtained at the Roads and Transport oversight meeting, on May 12, the total number of road-related complaints lodged with the metro during the first quarter of 2015 (from January to March) is 3 108.
The average lead time for complaints in this period is 75 days. Complaints lodged before this time are not included.
“The repairs and maintenance of roads by the Roads Department are 54 per cent below budget on the third quarter and 42.80 per cent below the year to date budget.
“Unspent grants at the end of the March 2015 totalled R1.5-billion, while the municipality had actual cash available of R8.6-b available in its bank accounts,” said Jordaan.
“This is an absolute disgrace and the MMC for Roads and Transport, under whose watch this took place, suffered no accountability consequences.
“This continuous decline in operational capacity, along with the poor quality and slow pace of service delivery by the metro, has resulted in numerous road deficiencies across Ekurhuleni.
“Roads across the metro are littered with potholes of every shape and size and roads are being flooded due to blocked storm water drains, because maintenance programmes are either non-existent or not being implemented in a sustainable way.”
Jordaan said the metro has also failed to appoint tar and bitumen suppliers and contractors timeously.
“This, combined with the lack of awarding tenders to contractors and the suspension of officials of the Roads Department have prevented the regular maintenance of Ekurhuleni roads by the metro,” he said.
“As a result, the safety of residents travelling on our roads is being compromised and, when damage claims are submitted to the metro, they renounce them, causing further financial hardship to residents.
“The residents have had to endure a crumbling road network, characterised by potholes and flooding, which damages vehicles, slows travel time and limits economic opportunity, as road maintenance doesn’t happen on time.
“The metro failed it residents in service delivery; it is not a matter of money not being available.”
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