Anger at EL potholes

TAKE CARE: Above and below Lido Avenue in Nahoon Valley is one of the many roads in and around East London needing maintenance. This stretch of road is littered filled with potholes Pictures: MADELEINE CHAPUT

EAST London motorists are becoming increasingly concerned about with the poor and dangerous condition of the city’s roads.state of the roads in the city.

Public Relations officer of the East London Taxi Association public relations officer Xolile Ngwendu said the many potholes were affecting their vehicles.

“It is quite infuriating because we travel along all the Buffalo City Municipality routes and every street is filled with potholes.

“There is no difference between a township and suburbs when it comes to the bad state of the roads,” he said.

A Beacon Bay motorist, Pamela Martin, said she recently had to replace two tyres because of potholes.

“Just as I reached Beacon Bay, the tyre went down and I just managed to get to a garage but the tyre was too damaged to repair. The next day I had a new tyre fitted.

“My second mishap occurred on Bonza Bay Road close to Edge Road and again my tyre was ruined.

“The condition of streets in an upmarket suburb such as Beacon Bay, where we have to pay top rates, is disgusting,” she said.

A Mdantsane taxi driver, who wanted to remain anonymous, said they complained continuously had been complaining to the municipality about the condition of the roads at the Qumza Highway Taxi Rank.

“Some of us are employees, and we get into trouble with our bosses for messing up the vehicles, with them not knowing that it is not our fault.

“If there is a vehicle part ruined, it gets deducted from our salaries. There is a man who fills some of the potholes and we pay him what we have, but he does not do it every day.”
Another Motorist Mark Fredericks said his vehicle has been damagedhad problems due to the potholes.

“Why are we penalised for the condition of our vehicle tyres, when the municipality fails to maintain the roads with our taxes?

“We are being punished for incompetence and ineptitude,” he said.
Fredericks said littering was contributing to the problem.

“Rubbish clogs up the stormwater drains. When it rains, the stormwater overflows and causes potholes. We need better management of the city’s resources and a visionary leadership,” he said.

BCM spokeswoman person Bathandwa Diamond said the City had plans to fix the potholes in the metro.

“Currently, we have three operational patching teams working around the metro at any given time and there are contractors who will supplement the operations teams in Egoli, Duncan Village, Quigney and Bhisho,” she said.

BCM’s eyes fixed on potholes

Residents can report potholes on (043)705 -9220/9223/9243 705-9223, 043 705 9243 or the BCMM Mobile App, available via the App store, Diamond said.

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