The City of Mbombela (CoM), through its Service Delivery Drive Campaign, has already made significant strides in addressing challenges across its five central regions over the past two weeks.

Their efforts saw mixed reactions from residents as projects in Mbombela had been completed while the surrounding areas had not been attended to.

The issues tackled included the patching of potholes, removing illegal car mechanics from roadsides, streetlight repairs and cutting the grass. Traffic officers had also been stationed on busy roads while the CoM’s teams repaired the traffic lights.

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However, some motorists are calling on the CoM officials to attend to issues that had been overlooked. The traffic lights in Belladonna and Anderson streets have been dysfunctional for months. Despite the Gatvol Campaign, which saw the CoM up the stakes, the pressure is still on the mayor, Cllr Sibongile Makushe-Mazibuko, to provide services as promised.

She said the CoM is aware of the issues with these traffic lights and plans are already in place to repair them. “As I mentioned, service delivery will not stop after the Service Delivery Drive. Our officials will attend to the traffic lights, while we move the project to the other regions under the municipality’s purview. We must bear in mind that we have limited resources and manpower, but we are doing everything we can to serve all the residents in the CoM,” Makushe-Mazibuko said.

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For the next two week, the focus will be on Mataffin, Rocky Drift and Msholozi in Ward 14 and eMbonisweni and Backdoor in Ward 38. “In these two wards, we will be dealing with all the streetlights, the water leaks and supply, clearing of illegal dumping and cutting the grass. We will also be regravelling the roads, patching potholes, repairing traffic signs and enforcing road traffic laws. Storm water drainage will be cleaned, and we are going to monitor the municipal properties,” Makushe-Mazibuko said.

They will also be working with the ward councillors to ensure all the issues they listed are being attended to. However, she requested that the community works with the CoM while they attend to the residents’ grievances. She said they may need to be patient with the CoM as the roads may be blocked off so potholes can be repaired and the water supply might be temporarily disrupted for leaks to be fixed.