With most roads in Estcourt in a deplorable state due to potholes, the repairing of water and sewage pipelines has exacerbated the problem in some areas.
When a burst pipe is reported and uThukela District Municipality workers are called in, the road surface is usually dug up for repairs.
This often results in large areas of road damage, evidenced by trenches and heaps of debris that is removed during the digging process.
Most of the time, these roads are never properly repaired.
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Over time, some of this damage increases in size, resulting in some roads being closed off (like at the intersection of Ntabamhlophe and Jannie De Waal Avenue). In other cases, grass sprouts up all over the place. And in the worst case scenario, damage that lasts for years and years is caused.
So who is responsible for road repairs once water and sewer lines are dug up and fixed?
The Estcourt News posed this and other questions to both Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality and uThukela District Municipality.
As has become the norm in recent months, the local municipality did not respond to the questions.
The district municipality’s communication manager, Jabulani Mkhonza, did however provide a curt response. Without elaborating on the role uThukela currently plays after a road is dug up or the process of damaged roads being reported to the local municipality, he did confirm that an agreement is on the cards.
“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 has been completed,” Mkhonza stated.
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