Angry Residents Unhappy with Shoddy Pothole Repairs

Residents in Weltevredenpark are expressing their dissatisfaction with the municipality’s poor service delivery, which took 17 months to address their concerns.

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Anton Prins shared his frustration, saying, “For the past 17 months, we had several potholes on the corner of Netball Street and Polo Avenue in Weltevredenpark. When the council finally came to repair them last week, we were surprised.”

Upon inspecting the completed project, they were even more disappointed. “The holes had been previously filled with bricks and stones to reduce vehicle damage. However, the council’s recent repair job was of terrible quality. They neglected to cut the edges or clear the holes of debris before applying the tar. The work was so shoddy that there are still unfilled potholes,” Prins exclaimed.

Prins believes that the tar used to cover the repaired holes will last Christmas. He expressed his disappointment, saying, “If my employees had produced such low-quality work, I would discipline or even terminate them. As ratepayers, we expect and demand better.”

As a concerned community member, Prins raised several questions: Why did it take 17 months for any action? Why was subpar workmanship accepted, and who approved it? Who bears responsibility for this poor service and work quality within the management?

The Roodepoort Northsider reached out to the Joburg Roads Agency (JRA) and ward councillor David Brand to investigate the repair work and determine accountability for the patchwork.

Bertha Peters-Scheepers from the Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA) explained, “JRA conducted the pothole repairs as a temporary safety measure until the road can be resurfaced, which is the required remedial measure.”

Councillor Brand voiced concerns about JRA’s response time to service requests and its lack of planning depth, citing examples like the 13-month delay in reinstating Wilderbraam Street and the nearly 18-month wait for Landhuis Street resurfacing. He criticised the apparent lack of supervision and quality checks on the work carried out.

Source: Residents fume as potholes are haphazardly ‘fixed’

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Photo: Supplied by Citizen