A gaping hole on one of Johannesburg’s busiest roads has become a symbol of the city’s wider collapse. On September 10, RISE Mzansi’s executive director Boitumelo Mpakanyane led an oversight inspection of an abandoned excavation site on the corner of Oxford Road and 11th Avenue in Rosebank, an eyesore and hazard that has frustrated commuters for weeks.

Read more: Johannesburg Water is keeping an eye on seven-month-old excavation at Shell Garage in Fairmount

The site, apparently left unfinished by Johannesburg Water, was meant to fix a leak. Instead, it has been reduced to a rubble-strewn cavity that endangers both motorists and pedestrians. “This is not just negligence; it is a shocking display of how little political will exists to restore our city,” Mpakanyane said.

RISE Mzansi argues the problem extends beyond Rosebank. Roads riddled with potholes, weeks-long water outages, and countless half-done projects reflect an administration in freefall. “Johannesburg is on autopilot. What we are seeing is not about lack of resources, but political and administrative neglect.”

Also read: Seven-month-old excavation in Fairmount is not forgotten

The organisation has pledged to demand urgent closure of dangerous excavations and has renewed its call for the boards of city entities to be disbanded, citing their failure to enforce accountability.

Residents, meanwhile, are left navigating daily hazards. “We hope this oversight will finally force action, at least on Oxford Road. People deserve safe streets, not abandoned trenches.”

For RISE Mzansi, the struggle is not only about filling holes in the ground, but about filling the leadership vacuum that has left Johannesburg’s infrastructure in crisis.

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