No need to go to court or go broke to ensure better services

Things are bad in Johannesburg with potholes, broken roads, dangerous pavements, water outages, electricity blackouts and scruffy parks.

Breaking news! It’s going to get worse unless you do something.

In its current form, the Joburg Roads Agency (JRA) cannot overcome a pothole backlog, which colleagues estimate at 20,000.

Nor will the JRA reduce the number of roads in need of resurfacing or reconstruction.

Joburg’s network is deteriorating because the budget is not enough to maintain roads, never mind improve them.

In 2017, there was an estimated backlog of R7.1 billion for surfaced roads, another R4.7 billion for upgrading gravel roads, plus R2 billion for sidewalks.

And still more for storm water, bridges and, and…In the past 18 months, matters have deteriorated. Asphalt supply has wavered between sporadic and nonexistent.

There is no end to the spat between JRA and City Parks about grass-cutting and skoffelling. So, jungles flourish on pavements.

They clog stormwater systems. Despite a few good men and women, JRA is the most inert city entity. Not much happens.

Getting things done is akin to mission impossible. The number of requests, pleas, reminders required to fix one pothole or secure one dangerous pavement is ridiculous. (Councillors may not demand or instruct).

Requests to investigate corruption allegations have yet to be answered properly. Covid-19 lockdown made a bad situation worse, and provided an excuse.

Requests to hotline@jra.org.za elicit this response: “Kindly note that due to the impact of Covid-19 we are working with a reduced staff complement which may impact turnaround times.”

Lockdown and Covid-19 have also taken their toll on Joburg Water, City Power and every agency which should serve residents.

What can you do about this? With solar energy becoming more affordable, you can become less dependent on City Power.

Reliance on Joburg Water can also be reduced. You are not allowed to fix potholes.

For the rest, go the legal route? Some are encouraged by North West High Court judgments against the Kgetlengrivier (Koster) municipality, allowing residents to take over the sewage plant.

Among other notable cases, in January last year, the Makhanda High Court ordered the Makana (Grahamstown) Municipal Council to be dissolved. But that’s still a mess.

Before engaging lawyers, note that such judgments are unlikely against the City of Joburg.

The City is delivering services, even if they are substandard.

Another factor is financial sustainability. On Carte Blanche’s weekend coverage of Kgetlengrivier, it was clear residents cannot afford to run the sewage works and water supply indefinitely.

Of course, different funding models could be used.

Yet there is no need to go to court or go broke to ensure better services. Use your vote to get rid of ANC incompetence and corruption which prevent efficient governance.

The next time Johannesburg ditches the ANC, it must do so properly. Give the party enough clout to govern without being encumbered by racist land-grabbers in red overalls. Or any other spoilers.

In this local government election year, you know what to do if you want a well-run municipality such as Cape Town or Midvaal.

You can help rescue Joburg. Just do it, please.

Martin Williams, DA councillor and former editor of The Citizen.

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