POLOKWANE – BONUS is still inundated with calls on an almost daily basis from residents who complain about pavements being dug up in being left open for months on end.
Karin de Klerk, a businesswoman in the city, said trenches were dug in April in Rabe and Burger Streets and were just left as it is, with nothing further done to finalise the work. Weeds are growing on the mounds of ground left alongside trenches.
“It is an eyesore and does not leave visitors to the city with a positive impression of the city,” she said. She owns high profile properties in the area which she tries to lease out, but would-be customers are put off by the trenches and condition of the pavements.
She also complained about kerb stones installed around 10 cm above the driveway surface at an entrance in Plein Street.
Trenches on pavements in the city are cordoned off, sometimes leaving no walking space for pedestrians walking on the pavements and forcing them to walk in sometimes very busy streets, like Tom Naudé learners at the corner of Dap Naudé and Potgieter Street being forced to walk around the cordoned off area on the busy Potgieter Street to get around the corner.
Following an earlier council meeting the municipality said it would see to it that the contractors, who are behind schedule with the projects, should cover ditches and finish the projects in blocks, but trenches are not being covered again, but left open.
Municipal Spokesperson, Matshidiso Mothapo, said it was visible from the photos BONUS submitted that construction work on both the road and the installation of new pipes is still continuing.
“If you drive around Rabie and the whole bo-Dorp area you will see there is still a lot of digging work continuing with regards to installation of pipes. All the areas dug up will be rehabilitated once the respective construction works are completed. At the end of every project there is a snag list of all the small items remaining that will be dealt with which covers the small issues after major construction.”
He said it is a known fact that all major face-lifting or reconstruction projects in every city come with temporary inconveniences, but with long lasting benefits for all. “We have been receiving good feedback from the residents and other motorists using Plein Street about the good quality of the road surface from what it used to be to what it is now. Our residents should rest assure that once all projects are done our areas would have been developed for the better.”
Mothapo said as a community we need to focus our energies and resources on contributing positively to the development of our areas and our city which we all love so much. “Let’s build our city together!”
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