The residents of Ezinambeni are in desperate need of road repairs.
Ezinambeni drivers are concerned about the impact of potholes on their vehicles.
Some roads are so badly damaged that they must be completely repaved.
The Ezinambeni Extension 14 community is threatening to take to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with the area’s terrible roads.
According to the residents, potholes and the extreme state of the roads pose a grave danger to motorists and their vehicles.
Mr Thobani Mahlangu, a community member said, “We are tired of the potholes. We are tired of the shoddily constructed roads. The sad part is that the roads leading to our hospitals are damaged,”
According to Emalahleni Local Municipality IDP/Budget Community 2022/2023 Roads and Storm Water, the total cost of refurbishing town street roads in eMalahleni is R5m.
“We are aware that every time there is a tender for the roads to be fixed, contractors opt for cheaper material and do shoddy work on the road. This must come to an end,” Mahlangu added.
The roads in Ezinambeni have deteriorated to the point where driving from source to destination, has become a complete nightmare for motorists.
Nomfundo Mokoena, an Ezinambeni Ext 7 resident stated, “Our main concern is the poor standard of our roads. I am sure you have seen the number of potholes. It is actually embarrassing that we are subjected to this.”
The residents have gone above and beyond to make their roads safer, but they still require assistance from the municipality.
“Sometimes as community members, we do fill up some of the potholes at our own expense because we fear damage to our vehicles and potential accidents involving cars trying to avoid the potholes,” Mokoena explained.
“I wish that every municipality would attend to potholes and fix them. I’m not sure if they can fix them due to the nature of the emergency, but these are the things that are causing more accidents on our roads,” Ms Bontle Mokoena added.
Emalahleni Local Municipality spokesperson, Mr Lebo Mofokeng said, “The municipality has noted the increase in the number of road damage. In some parts of eMalahleni road maintenance has already started. As the municipality, we are working on a budget and we believe all potholes will be fixed in due time.”
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