Pretoria east residents are questioning why persistent service delivery problems remain unresolved despite the Tshwane Metro reporting improved financial performance and securing its July equitable share payment from National Treasury.

Resident Carina Gauche said she has repeatedly reported a leaking water pipe that has been damaging the road since December 2025, but months later the leak remains unrepaired and has caused a large pothole.

“The leak has been running since, and now there’s a huge pothole because the road has deteriorated. I drive past it every day. I don’t know what they fixed, but they didn’t fix that leak,” she said.

Gauche said the damage has become so severe that motorists are forced to drive into the A Re Yeng bus lane to avoid the pothole.

She said she has repeatedly followed up with the city but has lost confidence that the problem will be resolved.

“I’m giving up because I spend my days sending emails, following up and getting promises that it’s going to be fixed. They can escalate it to the moon – they just send emails back and forth, but no one comes out to do the work.”

Gauche questioned why residents continue to experience deteriorating infrastructure while the metro reports improved financial performance.

“Residents are paying more for municipal services, yet basic maintenance isn’t happening. I don’t believe there’s any intention to deliver the service people are paying for.”

She also pointed to what she claims are recurring electricity outages in another part of Pretoria east, where residents reportedly experience power for only a day before it is interrupted again for several.

“People have power for one day, then they’re without electricity for three or four days before it’s restored again. From what residents are experiencing, it feels like incompetence.”

Another resident, Pierrè Grobbelaar, said while there has been noticeable improvement in some municipal services, the quality of repairs often leaves much to be desired.

“I can’t say there hasn’t been an improvement in service delivery. I’ve seen the city repairing streetlights and fixing water leaks,” he said.

However, Grobbelaar said repairs are often left incomplete.

“The leak gets repaired, but the pavement is left damaged. They just fill the hole with material and leave it like that. I was told the property owner must repair the pavement afterwards, but I’m not sure whether that’s really the owner’s responsibility or the municipality’s.”

He added that while routine maintenance, such as grass cutting in public open spaces, is taking place, other infrastructure is being neglected.

“They’ve been cutting the grass in the greenbelt near Shell Street, but the fencing hasn’t been repaired or painted. Maintenance shouldn’t stop at cutting the grass – the surrounding infrastructure also needs attention.”

The residents’ concerns come as the metro announced that it remains fully compliant with National Treasury’s legislative and financial governance requirements, ensuring it will receive its July 2026 equitable share allocation.

Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo reported collecting over R4.2-billion in June, exceeding its projected revenue target of about R4-billion by close to R350-million. He said the metro further surpassed its funding plan target by securing R544-million.

Mashigo added that financial achievements would strengthen service delivery and infrastructure investment.

“The confirmation from National Treasury demonstrates the city’s continued commitment to sound financial management, strong governance and strict adherence to legislative requirements.

“Securing the equitable share allocation provides certainty for service delivery programmes and infrastructure investment while reinforcing public confidence in the city’s financial management,” said Mashigo.

He added that the metro’s improved revenue collection and prudent financial management have placed Tshwane on a stronger financial footing to deliver quality services to residents.

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