Drive to repair Tshwane's ‘five' potholes
Civil society organisations and community members continue to carry the responsibility of repairing potholes around Pretoria, while the municipality stays mum.
Last Wednesday, Betereinders cofounder pastor Johan Erasmus and his team took to the streets with the NG Oosterlig en Dialogue community as part of their Gatvol pothole project to fix over 100 potholes in the east of Pretoria.
'We used over 100 of 35kg buckets of pothole mix with over 100 people helping,' he said.
'People see the government and municipalities are neglecting their responsibility. We need to do it ourselves.'
Erasmus said there was no better feeling than seeing black and white people working together.
'Passing motorists encouraged us. They brought us something to drink. It was as if we were building or paving a road. It was like paving the nation,' he said.
'More than 10 potholes in one stretch'
Last year, AfriForum volunteers' initiative to fix a pothole in Centurion was cut short after they were forced to stop by the Tshwane Metro Police department.
In October, following the removal of Cilliers Brink as the mayor and election of ActionSA's Nasiphi Moya, her MMC of environmental affairs and agriculture, Obakeng Ramabodu, said he was going to propose that the memorandum of understanding between the City of Tshwane and AfriForum be cancelled.
AfriForum district coordinator for greater Pretoria North Llewellyn Hemmens said they were constantly busy with repairing potholes. Hemmens said they have already used 20.25 tons of tar for potholes this year.
Residents have been reporting multiple potholes around the city, including Olympus, Nieuw Muckleneuk, Villieria in the Moot, Doornpoort, Capital Park, and Brooklyn.
Residents claimed some roads have more than 10 potholes in one stretch alone, with traffic circles not excluded.
ALSO READ: WATCH: In lockdown with no water or electricity … thanks to a sinkhole
Water leaks covered and left
DA ward 85 councillor Jacqui Uys said last week the potholes on the corner of Libertas and Furrow Road in Equestria were caused by a water leak that was simply covered and left.
'One cannot make this up. The city today came and just threw some tar in the holes without fixing the leak. They left the big excavation that causes half of the road to be opened as it was.'
Uys said the road has been undrivable since the middle of January.
'The mayor claimed Tshwane has only five potholes, Equestria alone had 197 – yet the community, along with the Equestria JEA and DA volunteers, has been working together to fix 100 of these and will continue until Equestria is pothole-free,' she said.
City officials have yet to respond to the issue of potholes in the city.
NOW READ: Tshwane under pressure as residents complain about water outages, power and potholes
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eyewitness News
16 minutes ago
- Eyewitness News
ANC: Trump's decisions on reciprocal tariffs expected
JOHANNESBURG - The African National Congress (ANC) said United States (US) President Donald Trump's decisions on the reciprocal tariffs come as no surprise. On Thursday, Trump announced he was imposing 30% tariffs on South Africa, which will come into effect on 4 August. And while the ANC said it's leaving it to the government to wade through the choppy economic waters, its seecretary general, Fikile Mbalula, said the matter is definitely on the agenda. ALSO READ: DA blames Trade & International Relations ministers for unfavourable trade deal with USA 'We will, among others, discuss the implications of the tariff increase, in terms of the economic trajectory and the path forward, how it impacts our economy, and what the options [are].' Despite concerns from some, including the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Johannesburg, Mbalula insists the City of Johannesburg is and will be ready to hold the much-anticipated G20 Summit later in 2025. He has also shared his thoughts on news from the US president that he might not make it to the country to participate in the event himself. 'They've now decided to not send the head of state of America; they decided to send somebody because South Africa will hand over to the United States with regard to the G20, our government must deal with that.'
Daily Maverick
17 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Emfuleni crisis highlights local government debt as Treasury cracks the whip
The closure of the Emfuleni Local Municipality offices due to unpaid rent highlights the local government debt crisis, something Treasury hopes to fix by withholding grants from defaulting municipalities. Residents of Emfuleni were unable to make payments or lodge enquiries at the municipality's Vanderbijlpark offices this week after they were locked due to the failure to pay the monthly R6.4-million rent. According to the DA's Emfuleni caucus leader, Duncan Mthembu, this is a 'powerful symbol' of a nationwide crisis of municipal dysfunction and ballooning debt. Freedom Front Plus Councillor Hein van der Lith said the property owner had closed the building, which has more than 100 offices, twice previously this year and three times in 2024. He said the closure follows a recent recommendation from the Gauteng Legislature's Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) to place the troubled municipality under administration. Emfuleni was recently identified by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana as one of 39 municipalities that have persistently failed to pay water boards and other parties such as pension funds, medical aids, SARS, the Auditor-General, and continues to adopt unfunded budgets. The minister said he would suspend all grants to the 39 municipalities for the rest of the financial year due to their ongoing failures. The DA's Mthembu said the closure of the Emfuleni offices meant 'residents have been left confused and stuck on how to proceed in getting assistance with payments and enquiries'. Emfuleni is located in Gauteng and comprises areas such as Vanderbijlpark. Mthembu said this was 'nothing more but an abject failure in governance, and something as simple as communication. The municipality could not even inform residents of their offices' closure.' Account attached Emfuleni's problems have been compounded by Rand Water's decision to attach the municipality's bank account due to its R1.7-billion unpaid debt. Emfuleni Municipality spokesperson Makhosonke Sangweni denied that the municipality had failed to honour its payment agreement with Rand Water, describing it as 'arbitrary'. Emfuleni Finance MMC Hassan Mako said, 'The municipality is unable to access its bank account because Rand Water has attached the account, and this situation has persisted for two months.' He said the municipality had considered taking the matter to court, but the mayor refused. Mako said the municipality had formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with Rand Water that would manage the water and sanitation services. 'However, Rand Water seems to be more focused on delaying the launch process by continuously attaching the municipality's accounts,' said Mako. 'The SPV project requires R1.3-billion, while Rand Water is owed R1.7-billion. Nevertheless, the municipality has committed to servicing the debt in tranches so that other service providers can be paid,' said Mako. Describing the impact of having its bank account attached, Mako said, 'There is no diesel to pick up refuse. Contractors that were assisting us with cleaning illegal dumps are not paid and have left the sites. When offices are closed, it means workers are paid salaries for doing nothing, and municipal infrastructure projects are suffering.' Emfuleni also owes Eskom R8.5-billion as at the end of June 2025. 'We believe the municipality is being held ransom by Rand Water, which negatively impacts service delivery. As a collective, we urge the mayor to lead by allowing this matter to be resolved in court in the best interest of service delivery,' Mako added. Emfuleni's municipal debt came under the spotlight in a letter from Godongwana to Cogta Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa on the ongoing crisis in municipalities. Gondongwana cracks whip on debt-ridden municipalities At the end of June, Godongwana informed Hlabisa that he would invoke Section 216(2) of the Constitution against the 39 most dysfunctional municipalities for 'persistent non-compliance'. This section allows the National Treasury to stop the transfer of funds to an organ of state if it commits a 'serious or persistent material breach' of measures designed to ensure transparency and expenditure control. According to Godongwana, Treasury has outlined a strict mechanism to force compliance: if any of the 18 defaulting municipalities fail to provide proof of full payment to their respective water boards within seven days of the 30 June letter, their Local Government Equitable Share (LGES) will be stopped. This withheld equitable share will only be released in portions, with stringent conditions. The first portion must be strictly used to pay current water board accounts, with proof of payment required, before a second amount is released for arrears owed under a valid repayment arrangement. According to the letter from Godongwana, if these conditions were not met, or if evidence of payments to institutions such as SARS, pension funds and other statutory third parties is not submitted, Treasury would approach Parliament to endorse the stopping of all LGES transfers for the rest of the 2025/26 municipal financial year. Municipal financial years run from 1 July to 30 June. Treasury also plans to withhold conditional infrastructure transfers. 'It is advisable that, parallel to the LGES withholding process, Rand Water, Vaal Central, Lepelle Northern, and Magalies Water enforce their credit control policies to also attach the bank accounts of the defaulting municipalities to enforce a change in behaviour of these municipalities. The same applies to all the water boards, in order to avoid a similar situation and prevent escalating debt across water boards,' said Godongwana. Earlier this year, Hlabisa told Daily Maverick the national government was sending a message to municipalities that 'it is time to pay'. During his 2025 departmental budget vote debate speech, the Cogta minister said: 'We have concurred with Treasury to compel the payments for water boards and Eskom, and pay pension and medical aid contributions to third parties. Notably, the same principle will have to apply to all government departments who owe municipalities, they must be compelled to pay what is due to municipalities.' Municipalities across the country owe Eskom almost R110-billion. Writing in Business Live, Municipal IQ managing director Kevin Allan said the local government debt crisis was caused by poor governance, a lack of oversight, and weak administrative capacity. 'The suspension of grants, therefore, represents the Treasury's move from carrot to stick. But this approach is not without risk. Service interruptions, project delays and cash flow constraints may follow in affected municipalities. Residents could bear the brunt of deteriorating services, and protest action may escalate,' said Allan. He described Treasury's decision as 'both bold and necessary'. 'The stakes are enormous. Without intervention, the escalating debt spiral could not only collapse local government, but destabilise national service delivery and weaken the country's fiscal standing,' Allan continued. 'Above all, municipalities must get back to basics. They must adopt funded budgets, bill accurately, collect revenue diligently and prioritise creditor payments. Professionalising financial management, insulating administration from politics and enforcing accountability are not optional – they are essential. DM
The Citizen
19 hours ago
- The Citizen
uMngeni councillor murder: Traditional leader uncle among 5 arrested
A suspect accused of killing the late uMngeni municipal councillor Nhlalayenza Ndlovu was his uncle. According to Zululand Observer, Ndlovu was gunned down at his Masosheni home near Mpophomeni in December 2023. The uncle (56), who is an iNkosi (a Zulu word for 'chief'), was arrested on Wednesday and appeared alongside a 34-year-old accomplice in the Howick Magistrate's Court yesterday. The arrest by the SAPS Political Killings Task Team brings the total number of suspects to five. The matter has been postponed to next Friday for a formal bail application. DA leader Francois Rodgers said the iNkosi is allegedly implicated in a separate case involving the murder of his cousin. 'While the DA welcomes the progress in this case, we remain deeply disappointed by the delays in the arrests. The information that ultimately led to the arrests was already available to the authorities by the DA's independent legal team, yet it was disregarded,' said Rodgers. 'The disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has further weakened the state's ability to address politically motivated crimes. 'The presence of senior SAPS intelligence officials during court proceedings only deepens concerns about whether our intelligence structures are being used effectively and impartially in such politically sensitive matters.' Cogta MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi commended the SAPS on the arrest, saying it was a 'significant breakthrough'. Buthelezi praised the task team for their diligent work, which led to this progress and the arrest of more suspects. Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on
