THE repair work which recently got underway on Old Main Road has been welcomed by residents.

Ward 103 PR councillor Mxolisi Khubisa said residents have expressed “happiness” with this development after the Department of Transport appointed a contractor.

“However, the community has gone through numerous stressful impacts which resulted in minor accidents and other damages on their vehicles through potholes. The state of the roads in Ward 103 is in a very bad condition, with potholes on Kassier Road, where there are no road markings. Sometimes traffic lights are left for days not working. One example of this happened on Hospital Road,” said Khubisa.

The councillor added that a frustration residents sometimes encounter occurs when contractors “shift responsibility” when inquiries are made, including about timelines relating to delays.

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“This has caused severe stress in the communities as it results in disturbances in normal proceeding of the vehicles. We are anticipating a public meeting with road department with both provincial and municipal roads to get an understanding of their allocations and timelines when doing their repairs. The community has also suggested that contractors at least should open a group for WhatsApp and include all key leadership in the community like CPF, ratepayers’ association, neighbourhood watch and councillors, with daily or weekly updates so that residents’ frustration could be managed,” said Khubisa.

Previous complaints over the poor state of Old Main Road in Hillcrest resulted in calls for it to be retarred rather than having potholes patched.

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