Roads worsen as municipalities dodge questions
Both the district and local municipalities are keeping silent about who is responsible for the road repairs
A concern that has cropped up many times at community meetings with municipal officials is: Who is responsible for the repairs after a road has been dug up to fix water or sewerage lines?
It was previously stated that uThukela District Municipality, who digs up roads for repairs, are the ones who backfill (refill the hole with material that has been removed) and then it’s up to the local municipality to complete the road repairs.
However, during the past few years, this process has not been happening. There are dozens of roads that have gaping holes or a cracked surface, which usually spans across the street.
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In some streets, the road damage has been neglected for such a long time that the rubble surrounding it has sprouted vegetation, as is the case in Canna Avenue. When responding to questions from the Estcourt News in September last year, the district municipality gave a seemingly positive response.
“uThukela District Municipality is currently engaging with Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality to draft a Memorandum of Understanding that will assist both municipalities in ensuring that the repairs of tarred roads are done once the work is completed,” said the communication department.
Since then, all follow-up enquiries about this engagement process have been pointedly ignored by the district municipality’s communication department.
The local municipality was also contacted to provide clarity regarding who is responsible for road repairs. It is now two weeks later and despite promises to respond, no answers have been forthcoming.
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