Residents raise complaints about roads in Summerveld
Residents in Ward 103 have complained that Hawkstone Road has been neglected for too long, leaving it in a deplorable state.
WHILE Ward 103 residents have raised concerns about a supposed neglect of infrastructure in their area, including roads, the KZN Department of Transport has said that an “insufficient budget” has made “it difficult to fix our road networks timeously” and so the department is focusing “on the fixing of potholes” throughout the province.
Ward 103 DA councillor candidate Mxolisi Khubisa said one of the roads in the Summerveld area, Hawkstone Road, exemplifies the department’s “persistent” neglect of infrastructure in the area.
Responding to a media enquiry about whether the department has set aside funds for this particular road in Summerveld, Ndabezinhle Sibiya, the spokesperson for the KZN MEC for Transport, Siboniso Duma, cited budget constraints as a challenge which “is compounded by recurring floods that destroy our roads”.
“The little money [that is available] has to be re-channelled [and] go to repair damaged roads and bridges,” said Sibiya.
He added that the department is currently focused “on the fixing of potholes as we cannot rehabilitate some of the road networks due to limited budgets”.
According to Khubisa, roads in the Summerveld area are in an unusable state which requires “urgent intervention” from the department.
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The councillor candidate said there have been growing complaints from the area’s residents about the state of the roads.
Khubisa said poor road conditions in the area not only affect residents but also local businesses and the agricultural sector.
Meanwhile, Sibiya said the department has “taken a bold decision to employ permanent workers” who will focus on fixing potholes rather than awarding tenders for this work to be completed.
“We have declared potholes public enemy number one.
“Although we have a limited budget, we are responding to requests from ordinary members of society and big business for the patching of potholes while we wait for a sufficient budget,” said Sibiya.
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