DA Member of the Provincial Legislature, Jafta Mokoena with Councillors Dirk Kotze, Rossouw Botes and Hennie Van Niekerk conducted oversight in Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality on 08 December 2022. The purpose was to assess the effect of collapsed services on the state of roads and other infrastructure. The collapse has affected education, healthcare and economic development in the area.
During the oversight visit we found numerous issues:
A sewage leak on Monument Road in Bloemfontein’s business area has turned the road into a major pothole.
Cable theft and sewage spillage between Vier Perdewa Street and Lantern Avenue in Pellisier. When cable theft occurs, it roughly costs the Municipality R110 000 to replace. The DA has installed a spotlight to minimising theft.
In Ossewa Street has 24 potholes within 80 meters, making the road almost impossible to traverse.
In Rose Avenue in Wilgehof, where even large vehicles have to drive next to the road to get past the potholes.
Across the metro, but specifically on Lilac Avenue road markings and stop signs are non-existent, especially around schools. Please see pictures here, here, here and here.
The issues have been reported and followed-up for months but with no response from the municipality. The state of the roads poses a safety risk to residents who have to travel these roads every day to earn an income and provide for their families.
Roads that are the responsibility of the provincial government in and around the Metro are in a similar state of disrepair.
The DA will continue to support residents by playing an active role as the official opposition in the municipality and the province by exposing poor service delivery and lobbying for improvements. To address emergency service delivery over the Festive Season, emergency numbers and measures for reporting service delivery issues have been posted on all DA pages in the Free State to ensure that the community is not forgotten during this time.
Issued by Jafta Mokoena - DA Roads and Transport Spokesperson in the Free State Legislature