First fix what’s broken

There’s a stretch of road – not more than one kilometre – on a busy route near Cresta in Randburg that resembles a warzone, rather than a path from A to B in the city.

For the past eight months this two-lane road has been dug up countless times in various sections.

What’s left is a number of massive holes – either laying dangerously wide open or filled with sand, just waiting to be washed away when it rains, or there is a new sewage or water leak.

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Yes, that’s also a frequent occurrence. As soon as yet another part of the road is dug up, traffic is brought to a standstill.

You are forced to take a detour – in many cases through narrow streets in probably just as bad condition – and the mess created by all the chaos is seldom returned to its glory.

What’s worse is that the “repairs” rarely last for a few weeks before the excavators and their merry band of men and women are back “fixing” it again.

There seems to be no end to this painful cycle, nor is anyone kept in the loop as to how we can put an end to this nonsense.

More concerning is that this piece of road was re-laid – obviously at huge expense to us taxpayers – before the last municipal elections. Now, it lies in tatters.

President Cyril Ramaphosa this month boldly stated how he wants to turn the country into a construction site.

He might want to look around him and he’ll see it’s already a construction site – but not in a good way.

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In opening parliament last week, Ramaphosa said: “From our largest metros to our deepest rural areas, we have a clear intention to turn our country into a construction site, as roads, bridges, houses, schools, hospitals and clinics are built, as broadband fibre is laid and as new power lines are installed.”

The disintegration of this road is not an isolated case. Take a trip to Lydenburg or Standerton and you’ll be shocked to see the state of those roads.

There’s many worse and I suppose we are lucky enough to have a tarred road – unlike so many people who have to deal with neglected sand roads or potholeinfested streets.

I’m all for talk of turning the country into a construction site for the better. It will create jobs and only improve life for most. But can’t we fix what’s broken first?