Potholes and sewer a problem for Avenues resident
"I feel like the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) is abusing my rights as a rate and tax payer.”
As the Avenues resident Gary Gough took the Benoni City Times through the issues faced by the residents living on the bottom end of Fifth Street in Northmead, a CMS employee hoots before navigating his way through a series of potholes on a stretch of the road.
The potholes, stretching from the corner of Fifth Street and Third Avenue down to Second Avenue, are just a few of the problems highlighted by Gough but pose a huge problem for motorists who use that stretch daily.
“I’m disgusted. I feel like the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) is abusing my rights as a rate and taxpayer,” said Gough.
Outside Gough’s property lies a storm drain whose concrete lid has been thrown into the drain, which has caused a blockage, resulting in sewerage running out into his street garden.
A strong stench of raw sewer, coming from a blocked manhole across the street on a part of the Benoni Child Welfare concrete wall, engulfs the area. But the manhole is invisible because of the overgrown grass and thick vegetation from the top to the bottom of the street.
“It’s disgusting. I’ve seen sanitary towels and human faeces coming out of it. We smell it every day. My wife is sick because of it and my neighbours complain about it all the time.
“The dampness on the ground is causing the lamp-post to fall and the water meter is burnt while its caps are missing. People also litter because the grass is not cut.”
Gough said he has reported these issues to the municipality several times and every time he does, the officials always promise to help but in the end, no one does.
“I’ve got records. I first reported this last year. I went about six months ago and again four weeks ago. I spoke to a lady in room 109. She said something would be done.
“The customer care centre called officials at the solid waste department in Golden Drive. They said they would come but no one pitched,” he said.
Ward 27 councillor Lornette Joseph advised residents to provide feedback once an escalation on an issue is made.
“If city teams do not respond by the end of the working day or the following day, residents should inform their councillors. Unfortunately, councillors hear back from residents only after several days or weeks, making it challenging to ensure timely solutions,” she said.
“We can’t effectively assist our residents unless we work collaboratively. We urge them to give us the information when we ask for it so we can address their concerns as efficiently as possible.”
We are awaiting a comment from the municipality.
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