It took a little drama, a dash of audacity and a councillor who knows how to seize a moment.
Ward 93 councillor Vino Reddy, long known for singing the same tune about broken traffic lights, quite literally gatecrashed a high-level meeting between Eskom, the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) and the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport (GPDRT), and this time, the chorus finally landed.
Reddy said he ‘inadvertently learnt about’ the meeting when he called Eskom for something else and saw it as the perfect opportunity to once again raise the issue that has plagued residents and motorists along Witkoppen Road and surrounding intersections for more than two and a half years.
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“I was also not far from where the meeting was held. I quickly drove there.”
His uninvited appearance appears to have paid off. “It was unexpected for them, but they can’t chase me away because I am the ward councillor. The meeting was a bit rushed, but I was able to address what I wanted to tell them on behalf of my residents.”
Following the meeting, Reddy announced that Eskom is expected to begin work on the recabling of Witkoppen Road and Main Road within the next two weeks, offering a glimmer of hope to commuters who have endured years of gridlock.
However, the news is not all good. He said the intersection on Witkoppen Road at Bryanbrook Estate has been excluded from the current plan, while the Maxwell Drive, Van Der Bijl Avenue and Rivonia Road intersection remains unbudgeted for.
According to Reddy, clarity on whether GPDRT will fund repairs at this intersection is only expected at the end of March.
In another troubling revelation, an Eskom technician confirmed that vandalism is partly to blame for the outages, with a nail reportedly driven into a cable at the Witkoppen and Rivonia intersection, allegedly so informal traffic controllers could generate income.
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He said the technician has also been tasked with investigating the non-functioning traffic lights at Leeukop, Rivonia and Naivasha roads.
Reddy cautioned that all information shared at this stage is verbal and may still change. He further explained that while JRA holds the maintenance contract for traffic signals, all approvals and budgets are authorised by GPDRT on a case-by-case basis, with the department prioritising which repairs are funded.
The developments come after months of mounting frustration from residents and motorists using Witkoppen Road and key intersections, including Maxwell Drive, Rivonia Road, Greef Avenue, Bryanbrook Estate, Main Road and The Straight near Pineslopes Shopping Centre.
“The residents of the ward and this city, whom we serve, are beyond frustrated with the massive delays caused by these non-functioning intersections,” Reddy previously said, adding that the ongoing failures are harming both daily life and the local economy.
The Fourways Review previously approached the JRA for comment regarding the prolonged outages and Eskom-related delays, but had received no response to date despite multiple follow-ups.
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