More than 500 KwaDukuza residents have signed a petition calling for urgent repairs to long-broken traffic lights across the municipality.

The petition, led by Democratic Alliance Ward 22 councillor Privi Makhan, was submitted this week to the KwaDukuza Municipality (KDM) and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport.
Residents say the situation has reached a crisis point, with major intersections left unmanaged for months.

“The situation is extremely serious. Non-functional traffic lights pose a daily safety risk to all road users. It is completely unacceptable that critical intersections are left unmanaged for almost a year,” said Makhan.

In October, repairs were approved for two major intersections in Salt Rock and Umhlali: the N2 on- and off-ramps at Salt Rock Road and the R102/Salt Rock Road junction near Umhlali Preparatory School. These lights were out of order for more than six months and have since been fixed.

Officials confirmed that the area has 27 sets of traffic lights, owned by three different authorities: the provincial transport department, KDM and Sanral. This split ownership has led to long-standing disputes over responsibility for the remaining repairs.

Makhan said these co-ordination issues are at the heart of the ongoing breakdown.

She added that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which should clarify responsibility for repairs and funding, has still not been finalised.

“Without it, both entities continue to shift blame, resulting in the paralysis we see today.”

The petition calls for:

• Immediate repairs to all faulty traffic lights.

• A published list of affected intersections and timelines.

• Completion of the long-delayed MOU.

Makhan said residents cannot afford to wait any longer.

“This petition gives residents a collective voice and shows the level of frustration in the community,” she said.

KDM spokesperson Sifiso Zulu said the municipality had historically been carrying out repairs and then billing the transport department for reimbursement. He said KDM stopped receiving regular repayments however, forcing it to carry costs that were unlikely to be recovered.

On the delay in finalising the MOU, Zulu said municipality had drafted the document and submitted it to the transport department for review.

“We are still waiting for feedback,” he said.

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