Ward 115 councillor Mark van der Merwe is frustrated over what he calls the city’s two-tier service delivery model in the months leading up to the G20 summit.

According to Van der Merwe, while G20 corridors received rapid repairs and beautification, residents living just a few streets away continue to endure long-neglected infrastructure failures.

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He says, the city has spent the past six months concentrating resources on Sandton routes and the areas around Nasrec – roads that international convoys will be travelling. “Just roads away, in the suburbs where convoys will not be travelling, the ongoing issues remain unattended to.”

The councillor highlighted a striking contrast: Potholes reported weeks ago in Ward 115 remain untouched, while G20 roads have been resurfaced and repaired with speed.

A reported water leak, which has been running for 11 months, is still unresolved, yet water infrastructure along G20 routes has been prioritised and fully repaired.

He believes the city’s actions prove that hosting the G20 has created an unequal service delivery system. “It’s not even different suburbs. There are issues two or three roads away from the main routes that convoys will be using that have simply not been attended to over the last six months. The city is putting lipstick on the main routes, making things shine for visitors, while the rate-paying residents are left without water, without power, and with massive holes that are never reinstated.”

Also read: Ward 115 residents frustrated by pothole crisis

Van der Merwe explained that it is frustrating to see the city focusing on certain G20 areas, when rate-paying residents are faced with issues that have been outstanding for close to a year, or, in the case of Platina Bridge, for over four years.

He also criticised the city for what he perceives as disrespect towards residents. “The city is showing that they do not care for the rate-paying residents, and are only focusing on an image that they are a world-class city, which, quite frankly, is so far from the truth that it is an insult to all residents of Johannesburg.”

While he acknowledges there may be some long-term benefits from G20 infrastructure work, he believes they will not outweigh the broader problems. “There will be some long-term benefits from stuff that was done for the G20, but as a whole, the city will remain in total disrepair.”

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