Residents taking matters into their own hands
Residents have gone to great lengths to fix infrastructure on their own as they claim that the municipality is not attending to their lodged complaints.
RESIDENTS are at their wits’ end as they find themselves being forced to repair infrastructure in their neighbourhood. They claim that this is due to unattended issues, with some going on for years. Business owner in Pinetown, Kevin Allan, said he has sent various emails to the municipality to report the problems and has received reference numbers followed with no action.
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“The culvert just after the entrance to Mercedes Benz is collapsing again. This is the fourth time I have reported this over the last 10 years. It is so bad now that vehicles are bottoming out with the chassis making contact with the tar.
“There is a hole in the tar opposite PSP that has been reported several times from two years back, to no avail. This was about 150mm in diameter and would have been a simple patch-up job. It is now 300mm in diameter,” he said.
Allan said he had just cleaned a curb that was blocked and causing damage to his property – he said he also believes it was the cause of the recent floods.
“This has caused major flooding damage at 16 and 34 Hagart Road from the last two floods. The curb is so silted up that the grass has stabilised the silt to the point that the water runs about 250 to 300mm away from the curb and then bypasses the storm-water drain. Then it crosses from left to right on the road and then down the drive into 16 Hagart Road and creates problems,” he said.
Asad Gaffar of the Westville Ratepayers Association encouraged residents to join such movements so they can work together in fighting for service delivery.
“The municipality is not acting in good faith, and that is a huge concern. It does not make sense for people to do things for themselves that they pay for through rates. It is not fair for people to do the municipality’s job on their behalf,” he said.
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eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela discouraged residents from repairing infrastructure themselves, saying this could pose danger to other residents and property.
“The City encourages residents to report all infrastructure in need of repairs to the City so it can be attended to. A complaints reference number will be given, should it be necessary to query the complaint further. The City will try to respond to complaints as soon as it can to initially ensure that the situation is assessed and made safe where necessary.”
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