Ratepayers demand urgent repairs for pothole-ridden roads in eThekwini

RATEPAYERS, residents and civic associations are calling on the eThekwini Municipality to repair road infrastructure such as potholes, which are causing residents to fork out thousands of rand in vehicle damages.

- NADIA KHAN [e-mail]

Ish Prahladh, president of the eThek-wini Ratepayers and Residents Associa-tion, said the issue of potholes remained a growing concern across the city.

“But no action is being taken. Pot-holes are rarely repaired, and if it is, it soon returns, sometimes even bigger, due to the poor workmanship. Resi-dents, like myself, are filling these pot-holes out of our own pockets. But why should we when we are paying our taxes and rates?

“The city cannot say there aren’t funds. There would be if they spent money wisely and not on expensive vehicles, unnecessary branding projects or ‘special meetings’ which cost millions of rand. We are now saying enough is enough. We don’t want to hear any excuses that there isn’t money. If we have to, we will resort to protest action to raise our concerns,” he said.

Abdool Valodia, chairperson of the Overport Ratepayers Association, said potholes were widespread in the Over-port and Sydenham areas, with some roads severely affected.

“Nearly every second road has dete-riorating patches and poor drainage worsens the damage after rains. While sinkholes are a reality, ageing infrastruc-ture and water leaks occasionally cause collapsed road sections.”

Valodia said reports to the city’s roads department often took weeks, or even months for action.

“Some critical potholes are patched between 30 and 180 days, but many recur due to substandard repairs.”

Valodia said frustrated residents and businesses sometimes filled potholes themselves using sand, gravel or rubble.

“However, these fixes are tempo-rary and often fail during heavy rains, highlighting the need for professional intervention.”

He said to repair a burst tyre could cost between R1 500 and R4 000, a bent rim costs more than R3 000 and suspension damage cost between R8 000 and R20 000.

“Taxis and delivery vehicles face higher costs due to frequent travel on bad roads.”