Farmall residents have expressed their frustration over a rapid decline in their suburb as road infrastructure worsens and illegal dumping sites continue to expand without intervention from the City of Johannesburg.

According to resident Rosalee Nel, several gravel roads in the area, including sections of Cedar, Third, Seventh roads, and the Kindred Avenue corridor, have become increasingly difficult to navigate due to deep potholes, erosion, and a lack of consistent grading.

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At the same time, illegal dumping has worsened, with Kindred Avenue now lined with large piles of building rubble, household waste, and discarded materials. Nel said new dumping appeared almost daily.

“It’s getting out of control. The roads are deteriorating, and the dumping is just growing. You can’t even enjoy a simple walk or jog without stepping around debris. It’s unsafe, unhygienic, and it feels like no one is addressing it.”

According to Nel, despite repeated complaints to the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) and Pikitup, little has been done to address the deteriorating infrastructure, leaving residents to navigate unsafe shortcuts and risking delays for emergency response teams.

Two months ago, Fourways Review reached out to Pikitup spokesperson, Muzi Mkhanazi, about this issue, who said Pikitup had been in discussion with the Regional Director’s (RD) office and other city entities regarding the growing illegal dumping sites in Farmall.

Months later, residents are still complaining. When contacted, Mkhanazi told the publication that Pikitup was awaiting a directive from the Regional Director indicating a date and time pertaining to the multi-entity clean-up in the affected area. “It is the RD’s office that can organise all the resources needed to deal with all the issues at the said site.”

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Fourways Review also reached out to JRA about the roads. JRA head of department, regional operations, Khayalethu Gqibitole, said JRA was fully aware of the current conditions of the roads in the Farmall area.

“The gravel roads in the area are regularly graded as part of ongoing maintenance,” said Gqibitole.

“The depot has an established maintenance programme in place to ensure continuous upkeep of these roads. This includes regular blading, re-compaction where necessary, and addressing localised drainage issues to maintain drivability and reduce deterioration caused by weather and traffic.”

However, Nel complained that it had been a while since the roads had been maintained, and when the Review reached out to JRA about that, the inquiry was acknowledged by spokesperson Mosa Makhalima, but no response had been received before going to print.

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