Stormwater and lack of resurfacing to blame for flooding:
The heart of Africa's economy is suffering as a result of inability to move the economy of Johannesburg due to bad management practices of the road agency in previous years.
The continual rains of the last 96 hours, under staffing at depots, poor workmanship and lack of funding to expedite critical service delivery issues are to blame for the poor road conditions we see today.
Potholes across the City are rife with an vastly increased number being reported since the increased rainfall that started on Friday. Although, there has been a big improvement in workmanship from the JRA since Mr Skhumbuzo Macozoma took over in September 2012 it is the legacy of 6 years of poor management from before that that cannot be undone that quickly.
The flooding of the roads as a direct result of blocked storm water drainage systems can be directly linked to understaffed depots. Depots are responsible for the cleaning of Joburg's storm water systems and since this has been neglected for so many years, the task ahead is enormous.
The quality of workmanship and lack of funding available for resurfacing of roads further exacerbates the problem when patch work is done in lieu of a lack of funding to resurface roads.
Pothole repairs are often a temporary solution and not sustainable in the long run where quality resurfacing is required.
DA Transport Spokesperson in Johannesburg, Cllr Nico De Jager, believes that Mr Macozoma has done good work to improve the service delivery and morale in the JRA in recent months but understaffing and lack of funding remains a big problem for the JRA says De Jager.
The Democratic Alliance will be releasing a guide to assist residents with logging service delivery issues related to the recent high rain fall, including potholes, broken traffic lights, etc. The guide will be available on our website www.dajhb.co.za from tomorrow (4th February 2014).
Statement issued by Cllr Nico de Jager: DA Spokesperson on Transportation- City of Johannesburg, February 3 2014
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