ENOCH Mgijima Local Municipality (EMLM) took to the streets two weeks before the elections to clean potholes and carved around them as if they would be fixed.
This led to the potholes being bigger and deeper but no work has been done on them since then. Residents and especially motorists saw this as just electioneering work. Young unemployed men around the townships saw this as an opportunity to make some money out of this unfortunate situation.
Local resident, Lisa Ndlazi, said, “We know that whenever elections are coming up, municipalities like to look busy as if they will deliver long awaited services.
“But this always goes away after elections. We are struggling with expensive petrol but we must still deal with constantly buying tyres and changing shocks.”
Another local, Bulelani Mango, said the problem of potholes is exacerbated by rain and ever leaking sewerage pipes. “When you drive on a flooded road you can’t tell where a pothole is and you drive into it.
“Politicians just see us as voting cows and they don’t care about us; as long as they have secured cushy offices and big salaries, they are fine with rot,” Mango said.
Local youths started collecting rubble and sand to fill the potholes. They carry containers in which passing motorists can put in money for the service rendered.
Thando Magwa is one such youth, who has taken on the job of filling potholes where the municipality fails to render this service.
“We are unemployed and so we saw an opportunity of making money while providing a much needed service. We are not robbing people; we are just using our strength to make money. We are not unemployed because we are lazy,” said the 27-year-old matriculant.
Another ‘road worker’, Anaso Tyali, 24, said while it was sad that the municipality was failing motorists, this gave him a chance to help put food on the table.
“The people who do this work of filling potholes are the people who don’t want to be associated with crime but still have the need to help provide for their families,” he said.
Detailed questions were sent to EMLM last week Thursday, November 4, but spokesperson, Lonwabo Kowa, failed to respond and did not answer follow-up telephone calls.
Some of the residents around Mlungisi townships who wanted to speak on condition of anonymity, said when the work on the roads started, they knew nothing would come out of it. Some of those who spoke to Komani-Karoo Express said they were interested in becoming ward committee members and therefore could not risk having their names exposing the lack of service delivery.
