A ‘hole’ lot of frustration
MIDRAND – Asa Karriem, a 60-year-old community member took it upon herself to fill up the potholes on New Road.
A Midrand community member who has grown tired of waiting for potholes to be fixed has taken to filling them herself.
Asa Karriem went to New Road on 5 May, where she identified a huge pothole and decided to fill it up herself. The 60-years-old said that she was very concerned about the safety of the road. “One thing about me, when I see something wrong I have to stop and fix it.”
Karriem said she has noticed that many people are apathetic to the environment around her and she would like to change that.
“We must get away from that because there is too much poverty here and potholes are also a part of it because we are fixing one thing over and over again. Money gets stuck in one spot. The money the government could have used to built just one home, ends up being used for the same old project,” she added.
“People should not turn a blind eye because this affects them as well, once their cars get damaged they will have to pay a lot of money. This is why I advise people to try and play their part.”
Most of the potholes Karriem filled were on New Road. She put broken bricks, followed by sand to close the potholes and make them firm. She said this was a temporary solution to avoid potentially large damages to her and other peoples’ cars.
She said she is tired of calling the authorities to help because it can take countless phone calls and time for them to attend to problems. “I do this twice a month and if we start doing this we will see Johannesburg starting to turn around.”
The Midrand Reporter reached out to Johannesburg Roads Agency to find out whether residents were allowed to take matters into their own hands and repair potholes.
Media officer, Kelebogile Mafa said residents were not allowed to repair potholes.
- Any work carried out on roads maintained by JRA must follow due process. “For example, an external service provider would have to complete a way leaves application process with JRA and have it approved before carrying out any work,” said Mafa.
- It is not allowed for the community to do any form of roadwork, including filling up potholes on the city’s roads.
To report a problem and get help from JRA, Mafa said community members could lodge a request as follows:
- To get potholes repaired, community members are encouraged to report potholes to JRA on 011 375 5555.
- Upon reporting a pothole, the individual logging the request will be provided with a reference number that they can use for follow-up purposes.
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Related Article:
https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/284992/deppe-concerned-about-crumbling-roads/
