Residents of Rayton and Cullinan feel neglected

“The municipality has since declared war on potholes in the area by establishing projects to repair them.”

May 21, 2024

Johan Bezuidenhout 2 minutes read

City of Tshwane municipal workers cleaning up after residents who threw their rubble next to the road in Cullinan.

Although Rayton and Cullinan do not look nearly as neglected and deteriorated as other towns in our distribution area, such as Delmas, residents feel the City of Tshwane Municipality neglects them.

There are also other towns around Rayton and Cullinan, such as Refilwe, Donkerhoek, Elandshoek, and Jakaranda Park, that receive no attention.

Residents feel their voices go unheard when they complain about municipal services, toppled traffic lights, street lights that do not work and potholes.

Illegal dumping has also become a problem in these areas because residents throw their rubbish behind buildings and expect the municipality to clean it up.

This dumping is also a top contributor to the pollution of rivers and public spaces.

Residents of Rayton throwing away their rubbish in Boekenhout Street in Rayton.

Ward 100 Clr Johannes Bekker said, “There is no excuse for plastic waste in the environment because it must always be recycled and thrown away correctly.”

Plastic is a valuable resource and too crucial to dump and not re-use.

“If the culprits are caught, they will receive fines for illegal dumping. The metro police are also investigating residents who dump,” said Bekker.

The road conditions in Cullinan and Rayton are deteriorating, and the potholes are a tell-tale sign of poor road infrastructure.

Potholes, once as small as the palm of one’s hand, now dominate the roads, forcing motorists to swerve or risk damaging their rims, shocks, and wheel alignment.

“The City of Tshwane has become more reliant on local businesses and residents when it comes to fixing potholes,” said a community member.

In some areas, residents tried filling the potholes with sand and stones. The Tshwane metro received complaints from motorists regarding the potholes.

Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said, “The municipality has since declared war on potholes in the area by establishing projects to repair them.”

The city has a by-law on working on a public road, stating that if anyone wants to work on roads, they must acquire a wayleave (allows the right to use the property of another without possessing it) from the City of Tshwane.

The street lights in Cullinan and Rayton are another problem for the residents, with the non-working street lights making residents feel unsafe.

There are no proper road signs on the road leading to Cullinan.

Residents reported these non-functioning streetlights to the City of Tshwane, but it did nothing about them.

According to the residents, they have submitted many reports about the faulty street lights but were left with nothing but empty promises.

If the City of Tshwane Municipality fails to provide an answer, the residents in that specific area can escalate the query to the area manager where the problem is.

According to metro spokesperson Themba Gadebe, vandalism and theft of street lights are among the biggest challenges which have impeded the department’s efforts to deal with the faulty street lights across the City of Tshwane.