State at city entrances matter of concern

The state of the two main entrances to the city from the north and the south is not an inviting sight for visitors of the province’s capital city and residents share the opinion that Polokwane Municipality could take more effort and concentrate on the maintenance thereof.
The northern entrance from Louis Trichardt is an eyesore with shacks used as spaza shops and even overnight accommodation and with building material and refuse being dumped there on a daily basis. The area is used as an overnight facility by passing heavy transporters and the shacks are utilised as spaza shops and also as overnight facilities for the vendors and guests.
The matter has been raised with the municipality without any response and adjoining business owners are now up in arms. “The municipality has to act decisively and remove the shacks. It is an eyesore at our city’s doorstep,” a resident said.

The situation at the southern entrance to the city via the N1 is even worse. Information boards that were damaged years ago and were never replaced, industrial and domestic refuse that are dumped on the sidewalks and informal traders operating illegally and littering the area, are common sights. “Commuters buying take away food in the city find it convenient to dump their litter just as they leave the city and informal waste recyclers pick through the left overs and further contribute to the littering,” a resident said.
The secondary entrances to the city are reasonably neat and it appears that residents and businesspeople are taking it upon themselves to maintain the areas as far as possible.
A promising sight, however, was municipal workers hard at work trimming trees on the shoulders of the N1 at the southern entrance to the city last week and also cutting grass at the park opposite the cemetery.

Communications and Marketing Manager of the municipality, Matshidiso Mothapo earlier said that the municipality is doing its level best to maintain the parks and entrances to the city but that it is a mammoth task, taking into consideration budgetary and human resource constraints. “It will also assist if a sense of pride is instilled with the public and everybody contributes to prevent littering and keep our city clean,” Mothapo said.

Story: BARRY VILJOEN
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