A recent drive around my neighbourhood piqued my interest and sparked a debate with my peers. Opinions varied, with some dismissing any claims or suggestions of ongoing municipal work in their respective communities, while others concurred with me that numerous road works took place in various communities around Cape Town.
Risk: potholes or trenches put our lives at risk
This is still debatable, depending on where you reside in the Mother City. There are many areas where I have found driving to be quite a nightmare. Without mentioning names, I gave God the glory when I successfully navigated my way through a road riddled with potholes while visiting my family. Unbeknown to me, I took what I regarded as a short cut hoping to get there and out in a short time. The decision came back to bite me as I drove into the potholes or rather trenches filled with filthy water. I drove on and off the road and pavement until the end of this stretch. Phew! I sighed as I came to the end of this road.
But that was not the end of my struggles. I continued to battle as I moved into another road albeit improved driving conditions. I duly shared my experience as soon as I arrived at my destination. “You must never use that road again,” warned one of my cousins who was visibly upset with my road choice. “People get stuck in that road and are robbed or hijacked,” he added.
All this came as news and shock to me, but I listened and obliged. There were many other appalling roads in the neighbourhood. Most of them have since been fixed, but are not 100%. As amaXhosa would say “ucuntsu akafani noshici”.
Politics: elections are coming, mind games have started
This is a common trend around Cape Town. There are too many road works and some people are arguing that the upcoming local government elections are a driving force behind the change. I hope that is not the case. I hope all these road works and paintings together with many other municipal services are not fuelled by the elections. Politicians are very good at playing mind games with us.
We are quick to forget. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying there are not services, but the amount of distraction and neglect in our communities is a serious cause for concern. We deserve better, let us not be fooled by short term solutions. We all pay rates and taxes and deserve services but that has not always been the case. I’ve seen over the last few years the immeasurable amount of decay in our townships.
Services: infrastructure is slowly crumbling
Yes, we are to blame for some of these challenges, but I am also convinced that more investment and development can make our townships a lot more better.
There is limited investment into our community and the infrastructure is simply crumbling. Streets in many communities are covered and raw sewage and authorities often put the blame on residents for not adhering to the correct protocols when disposing their unwanted goods.
The other fact is that our population has increased drastically with little to no investment in our underground infrastructure. We are not third-class citizens but equals with the rest of the country. Proper infrastructure investment is required to overcome some of our challenges. Once again, it is my hope that we are not being fooled ahead of the elections, but this is the start of better things to come.
