Crater-size potholes pose a danger in Marburg

The state of many roads in Marburg are of concern as potholes have turned into craters.

Irate ratepayers say that rates have also increased, but Ray Nkonyeni Municipality (RNM) has failed to fix roads. Many are asking how is the money being spent.

Ward councillor Ajith Rajaram said the state of the roads has deteriorated over the years, despite having reported it to RNM timeously.

Rajaram said the reporting dates back to 2021 when he sent a list of affected roads – Glenn, Victory, Crescent, Deepvale, Torrowood Crescent, Venus, Hibiscus, Valley, Chestnut, Mahatma Ghandi and Hillview – and has not received a response from the municipality.

“In May, I sent another email about the potholes. The response was that ‘Main Harding Road is under construction and Deepvale Road is used as an alternative route to Port Shepstone or out of Port Shepstone. Potholes formed due to heavy vehicles, but we are trying to fix those potholes every month’. To date, I have not seen any work being done on that road,” said Rajaram.

He said of concern is that drivers have to swerve to avoid the potholes, however some drive recklessly and motorists end up in the potholes damaging tyres and rims.

The councillor said another concern in his ward is that rates have increased. “Our rates have gone up by over 20% and now have to pay almost double the amount. RNM’s excuse is property valuations. This was also brought up in council, however my concerns were ignored.”

Rajaram said he also proposed that the community fix the potholes.
Ward 17 committee member, Dinesh Pillay said the pothole issue was raised at a committee meeting and the danger it poses to the community in general.

“Children walking to and from school, the elderly walking to access medical treatment at the Marburg Clinic are in danger. Deepvale Road is in a deplorable state. Apart from the ‘craters’, truck drivers drop sand and stones on the road and don’t clean up afterwards. They also speed with no care for pedestrians or other vehicles. Taxis drive onto oncoming traffic. RNM should have teams working at night to identify these danger points and repair them,” said Pillay.

Fathima Moosa, chairperson of the Marburg Ratepayers Association said it is sad that the rates have gone up, especially as the community in Marburg is poor, living from hand to mouth.

“Most of our ratepayers’ accounts are in arrears, as they cannot afford to pay, and increasing the rates is ridiculous. We have sent objections but didn’t receive a response from RNM.

She questioned what the money was being utilised for as verges are not cut, street lights are not working and the roads are in a terrible state.

RNM was contacted for comment, however none was received at the time of going to press.

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