Rita Rheeders, a resident of Owl Road in Greenhills, was left with no choice but pay out of her own pocket to fix municipal issues.

Some of these issues, she said, come a long way, even years. After their street was riddled with potholes and a giant tree interrupted the electrical supply, residents said enough was enough and decided to take matters into their own hands.

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“There have been many potholes that we’ve had to seal, after there was no response from the municipality,” Rita said.

Rita said although she could not determine the amount of money the residents have spent to fix these issues, from time to time more money has to be forked out to fill a few new spots.

It can really be bad during rainy seasons, because you can damage your car. In addition, some of the manholes covers have been stolen and people can fall into the holes at night or when it’s raining. There are already dogs falling into them.”

And outside her property, there is a giant tree growing over the electrical wires, providing a perfect opportunity to thieves, who often climbed it to steal the cables.

“It also conducted the electrical current into the ground – you can actually feel it when you shower. The roots of the tree are growing underneath our house and from time to time they block the sewage system, therefore it will not help fixing the sewage farm without sorting out the tree,” she said.

“We have these problems because taxpayers’ money is not allocated for the right things. I often wonder what happens to the money,” Rita added.