North residents raise concerns about potholes and illegal dumping sites
"Some of the gravel roads here are better than the tar roads. The roads are undrivable. There are potholes everywhere and reporting such issues, is just a waste of time."
Tshwane metro has undertaken a campaign aimed at addressing concerns around potholes and illegal dumping in areas such as Soshanguve.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashego said the metro had embarked on the clean-up campaign called Tswelopele.
“Through this drive, the participation of residents, councillors as well as activists, illegal dumping spots are cleared.
“This is over and above assigning waste removal trucks to tidy up identified hot spots of illegal dumping.
“A few days ago, region 1, which comprises of Soshanguve and (MAWIGA) Mabopane, Winterveldt and Ga-Rankuwa, saw a team from the mayor’s office and interested participants tackling illegal dumping around Ga-Rankuwa.
“However, the Soshanguve matter is not isolated, it forms part of the entire picture as part of the goal is to inspire communities and businesses in taking charge of their environment,” Mashigo said.
“The metro will strive to support community-based initiatives, aimed at cleaning our environments, with existing resources as far as possible.”
On the issues of potholes, Mashigo said following the integrated development plan (IDP) consultation with the community, the issue of the dilapidated roads was raised by the Soshanguve community during the public engagement.
“The metro has heeded the plea of the community in that it has now prioritised this matter having observed the worn-out streets.
“As a responsive metro, a decision has been taken to allocate funds (in the current IDP process) for the reconstruction and development of the Buitekant Road and this will happen within the coming year.”
The response from the metro came after Soshanguve residents raised concerns around the metro’s dealing with the issue of potholes and illegal dumping sites in the township.
A group of block R residents told Rekord that there were a lot of illegal dumping sites mushrooming in the township and the metro had done “little to nothing” to curb this situation.
“The metro used to provide black bags for residents but they do not do that anymore. This makes it even more difficult for us to dispose of rubbish because we do not have bins.”
The residents also raised concerns about the roads in and around their community.
“Some of the gravel roads here are better than the tar roads. The roads are undrivable. There are potholes everywhere and reporting such issues, is just a waste of time.”
Block AA resident Lesego Malatji said she has reported the issue of potholes in one of the main streets in her area but nothing has since done.
“We have reported this issue for years but it is just a waste of time.”
Malatji said despite reporting the issue of illegal dumping near Giant Stadium, nothing has been done about it.
“There’s a huge dumping site near the stadium that is a health hazard in that area. The smell of that place is just unbearable. I would admit that residents are partly to blame for this but the metro is simply not doing enough to curb this.”
Another resident Sindi Madlala said the state of the roads and illegal dumping in the township needed urgent intervention.
“You simply cannot drive in peace because you forever have to dodge potholes. We have Buitekant Road that residents all over Soshanguve have complained about for many years but nothing has been done.
“I think the metro should consider giving residents black refuse bags like they used to because people are just dumping everywhere and it is getting worse by the day.”
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