Road repair campaign yields success
The road agency has been hard at work cleaning and removing illegal speed humps on the roads since the start of the year.
Traffic lights are back on and potholes on the tar road are being fixed – motorists in Fourways and surrounding areas could not be more delighted and it is all thanks to the #OperationLokisa campaign started by the Johannesburg Transport MMC, Kenny Kunene, working alongside Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA).
Speaking to Fourways Review, the marketing and communication director of the Johannesburg Transport office, Bakang Lethoko, said the campaign has been going on since March this year.
“It is our MMC Kenny Kunene’s initiative, and his intentions behind it are to promote equal access to basic municipal services and respond to it through the JRA. These are issues that were brought to him by ward councillors who complained about lack of service delivery in their areas and also about infrastructure that has not been serviced in a long time. This is a service delivery programme that we do on a monthly basis.”
She said the biggest challenge that they faced throughout the initiative was crime, “We have heard some of the staff members from JRA complaining about being mugged in some of the areas but the MMC did go and speak to the residents to assist in ensuring their safety, for instance, sitting outside while the team is busy till they are done.”
The road agencies have also been hard at work while cleaning, removing illegal speed humps on the roads during, and replacing manhole covers through the #OperationLokisa campaign which started earlier this month in Fourways.
“When we do an operation, we do it so that whatever needs to be done in the area is done. So, it includes a lot of things like patching the roads, and everywhere that is necessary. It is not only called #OperationLokisa, we have translated it into other languages so that it resonates with the people who stay in Johannesburg, for instance, another hashtag is OperationLungisa,” she added.
Susan Mottram who resides in Fourways said the private sector played a major role in the success of the projects and dedicates her gratitude to Future City Fourways. “Thank goodness we have members of the private sector who are prepared to put in their own time and funds and raise private funds to save our streets. Imagine how completely lost Fourways would be without private intervention. Thank you, ward councillors who support this process.”
Sibusiso Masina could not agree more with Mottram. He said the municipality should not only fix infrastructures through campaigns. “It took them so long to fix this. We have had many accidents because of traffic lights that are not working when we report them, nobody attends to them. But I am happy they come up with this project and has been a success. I hope next time they do not take forever to attend to our reports when they get damaged.”
Related Article:
