PICS: ‘We will not rest’ – Mayor inspects roads damaged in Joburg floods

The Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Mpho Phalatse, on Wednesday visited sites in the city where infrastructure and roads have been damaged during the recent Joburg floods.

The inspection kicked off in Roodepoort, where she met with MMCs Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, and Ronald Harris at the Civic Centre.

From the Disaster Management team, Aaron Raletsane provided a presentation of the overview of the affected areas in Region C.

Raletsane also shared a presentation with regard to the updates and flood repairs which had already taken place.

Our next stop is at Albertina Sisulu Road, to asses the collapse of the dam wall with MMCs @JulieAS51 and @BelindaE6. #Joburgfloods pic.twitter.com/hz4eIIDK7Y

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Residents warned to brace for severe thunderstorms, flooding and power outages

— Executive Mayor Mpho Phalatse (@mphophalatse1) December 21, 2022

Mayoral site visit

The team’s first site visit was at Princess plots in Region C where food parcels were handed out to residents.

Phalatse also visited Lindhaven to access the damages to a nearby informal settlement on a wetland where several dwellings were damaged.

The team then inspected a collapsed stormwater channel near Wilgerood Road in Kloofendal, as well as a collapsed section of road and a damaged bridge near Kilburn Road in Roodepoort CBD.

Lack of maintenance

Additional stormwater channel maintenance projects are planned, with Phalatse saying the Kloofendal channel collapsed due to a lack of proper maintenance.

ALSO READ: eThekwini halfway to restoring flood-damaged pump stations

We at Princess plots in Region C, one of the disaster stricken areas, to assess the impact of floods in the are . We also handed out food parcels to families #JoburgFloods pic.twitter.com/E2terX3wfS

— MMC for Development Planning (@MMC4DevPlanning) December 21, 2022

She said it was sad “that it had to take a flooding incident for us to get to a point” where the City could prioritise maintenance.

Other affected areas visited by the mayor include a collapsed dam wall on Albertina Sisulu road, as well as a collapsed pedestrian bridge near 36th Street in Region C.

Both the bridge and the road, however, could not be accessed on Wednesday, due to the damage.

PHOTOS: Hendrik Potgieter Road collapse – closed until further notice

‘We will not rest’

Phalatse said her team will not rest “until the work gets done”.

Meanwhile, the City of Joburg confirmed the Kloofendal road (which collapsed due to heavy rain) had been repaired.

Our last stop for the day in Region C is at Block 9 ,36th Street. There is a total collapse of the pedestrian bridge and severe damage of the residential road leading to the bridge, due to flooding. Sadly, both bridge and road are not accesible. #Joburgfloods pic.twitter.com/Itwff1Cl4y

— Executive Mayor Mpho Phalatse (@mphophalatse1) December 21, 2022