Operation Restore targets road infrastructure challenges in Zola

The City of Johannesburg MMC for Transport, Kenny Kunene, in collaboration with Johannesburg Roads Agency CEO Zweli Nyathi and the JRA board, joined hands to conduct the Operation Restore on March 2 at Zola.

The initiative reaffirms the City of Johannesburg’s commitment to improving local road infrastructure.

Speaking to the community, MMC Kunene stated that this is a programme he started in 2023 after discovering that the JRA is understaffed.

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 “I saw that the depots of the JRA are understaffed, so I decided to put together an operation where we bring teams from certain regions to help accelerate service delivery.

“This Operation Restore has been working very well. We are able to speed up service delivery and even do more because we bring people from other regions to tackle a few wards every week,” said Kunene.

He added that their plan is to do more work.

Kunene explained that since the programme started, he has been addressing flooding in several areas across the City of Johannesburg and has written to the president of the country requesting funding to rebuild the city’s infrastructure.

He said the City is not generating enough revenue to do more. While the JRA has the capacity, the problem lies in funding, as they do not receive sufficient budget support from the provincial or national government to expand their services.

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Kunene further emphasised to the community the importance of responsible behaviors, including preventing water accumulation on roads, ensuring proper drainage at car washes, and disposing of waste correctly to avoid drain blockages.

Speaking to the media, Nyathi said that most of the challenges they encounter are related to infrastructure backlogs.

He explained that when Soweto was designed, there were no services built underneath, and over time, issues such as flooding appear when it rains, which is what they are trying to mitigate.

“We are retrofitting infrastructure where it is critical, including key installations and storm water channels that we have already built.

“We are also attending to potholes and carrying out deep patching, providing all the services entrusted to the Johannesburg Roads Agency to restore the dignity of citizens; this is continuous work, it is not a once-off effort,” he said.

Ward 51 councillor Bhekukwenza Mngadi said they are pleased that the JRA has responded to their complaints.

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“Since 2022, we have been complaining that the Johannesburg Roads Agency is not taking care of our street, but now, due to the intervention of the MM and the CEO of JRA, here we are, they are attending to our queries, and we are finally seeing improvements in our community’s infrastructure,” said Mngadi.

He further stated that the community must be educated about taking care of their infrastructure at all times.