Alrode South businesses raise over R100k to patch potholes
Businesses in Alrode South contributed R5 000 each to help patch the potholes in the area because the CoE did not abide by their promise.
Twenty-seven Alrode South companies raised R135 000 to deal with the potholes in the business hub, despite the CoE’s promises to patch the potholes by last December.
The initiative is labelled under Better Alrode South.
The huge potholes have posed threats to the business industry for over five years and, to date, the issue still frustrates business owners in the area.
According to Dean Fegan, the SA Polyhammers director, a company that contributed to the Better Alrode South initiative, as much as it is a municipal problem, they are the ones affected daily by the potholes, which is why they joined hands and acted.
He said this is beyond patching potholes. To them, it is a chance to give more than 20 unemployed people sustainable temporary jobs because it is a long-term project.
“As you can see, we are starting by fixing big potholes and then will move to the smaller ones. We are more than pleased to see individuals wake up in the morning to work for their families and we aim to sustain this for quite some time,” he said.
The companies that donated to the initiative are SA Polyhammer, Hi Tech Mag Repairs, Propshaft City, Polyroads, Stab A Load, PSM, ROS International, All American Muscle, Arrow Chem, Sentinal Security, Creamers Lubrication, Battery Factory Shop, Bosch OE Aircon, Balantech Engineering, Davey Equipment, Gavin Wilkins Racing, Newway, Triumph Safety Glass, Chemzone, ZKE Zonke Enterprise, BDN Diesel, the Rednut Group, ST Crane Hire, Filipa Prop, We Buy Steel, Printash and Hennie Alberts Self Storage.
Hein Pretorius, the director of Polyroads, said they are not just patching the potholes by filling them with the cold asphalt patch but ensuring they put a permanent end to the problem.
“This is why we follow all the correct procedures that will ensure we won’t deal with the same problem in less than three years. We will ensure Alrode South is well maintained because the hub ensures many people do not go to bed hungry,” said Pretorius.
The project will run until all the potholes in the area are fixed. If more businesses want to join the initiative, they can call Fegan on 071 482 0051.
CoE’s R500k budget
The Alberton Record has been in communication with the relevant stakeholders about the potholes that seemed to be worsening in the business hub.
In an article published by the Alberton Record on March 20, Ward 94 Clr Samantha Nair told the newspaper that in her correspondence with the city, she was informed that funds had been provided to Andile Mngwevu, the MMC of Transport Planning, Roads and Storm Water, to assist in resolving the matter.
“I have been in communication with the MMC. According to him, he was only given R500 000 by the city to patch potholes, paint and maintain the roads of 12 wards. Realistically, this budget is too little to do all of the mentioned duties because Alrode, as a whole, is not in a good state to be harbouring businesses that employ locals,” Nair said.
Again, the Alberton Record communicated with Nair about the allocated amount to help fix some potholes in the business hub.
On May 30, Nair told the Alberton Record that the city fixed potholes on Rivett Carnett Street but when she moved around the area, she noticed many potholes on the street that were not patched.
“All the departments are waiting for their budgets, which will come into effect on July 1,” she said.
The Better Alrode South campaign is already done with the first big street and its surrounding streets. They have moved to another targeted street and continue to fix all the potholes in the industrial hub for a better user experience.
