I HAVE lived at Hilldene Gardens for about 52 years and in that time all that has been done is a patchwork of repairs.
I recently saw a small municipal vehicle, marked Water and Roads, parked outside Hilldene Gardens and the driver appeared to be making notes.
Hooray, I thought, action at last!
I was mistaken.
On 22 March, what appeared to be a four-ton municipal truck, marked ‘Roads Department’, parked at the bottom of Hilldene Road and three workers were relaxing under a shady tree.
When I enquired if they were going to resurface the road as there was such a large truck I was told they were going to fix potholes.
This morning when I was driving up Hilldene Road I counted three potholes that had been filled, probably each measuring 300mm in diameter and 30mm to 40mm deep, plus a few others of varying sizes in other parts of the road.
I would hate to think of the cost to do this job if one takes into account the three salaries, the fuel cost of the truck and the material that was used.
I could have done the same job if I had purchased a bag of cold tar from the hardware shop, probably costing between R50 to R60 and R40 for my labour.
eThekwini wants to increase our rates substantially, but what for? We don’t get the services we are entitled to.
Somebody in charge needs a wake-up call and needs to start giving the ratepayers the service they are entitled to.
One can only hope.
Clive Channell
Hillcrest
