Tshwane mayor under fire for downplaying pothole crisis

Some Tshwane residents believe mayor Nasiphi Moya, is living in fantasy land after she claimed in her state of the city address that there were just five potholes in the city which have not been repaired.

A municipal worker who agreed to speak anonymously said potholes had been ignored for months.

“Nothing is being done. You feel like a drunkard driving down Haarhoff Street from 18th Avenue to 21st Avenue, where there are easily about 30 potholes,” the worker said.

‘Nothing is being done’

The worker said some of the potholes had been left unattended for months while some were repaired so poorly that they resurfaced within weeks.

“Yes, they claim they fixed a whole lot of potholes, but they fix them so badly they reappear after the first rain.”

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DA councillor Marika Kruger Muller said it was a battle to get potholes fixed in ward 70.

“The entire Centurion (region 4) lack service delivery on this issue. Residents and councillors have been reporting the complaints for weeks on end and no response or action from the department. At first, the excuse was that there was no asphalt, then it was due to the weather,” she said.

Kruger Muller said there had been a couple of weeks without rain, but no potholes were fixed.

None fixed since rain

Moya claimed 692 potholes had been “inherited” from the previous administration, but 687 of them had been fixed.

The City of Tshwane has yet to comment on the state of the roads in the capital and the backlog of repairs of potholes.

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DA ward councillor Leon Kruyshaar said the potholes in his ward were so big they resembled craters on the moon.

Kruyshaar said some of the most problematic potholes were on main or busy streets such as Moot Street, Van der Hoff Road, Frieda Street and Market Street.

Most problematic potholes on main or busy streets

DA Tshwane shadow MMC of roads and transport Dikeledi Selowa said the city was selling asphalt to push city revenue at the expense of residents’ safety and tyre damages.

She said residents in many wards had taken it upon themselves to fill the potholes with tar or even sand.