The City of Cape Town’s ramped-up service delivery mission continues with pothole repairs in Grassy Park and a clean-up in Khayelitsha, led by the Executive Mayor, along with the city’s roads team and Solid Waste staff. Mayor Plato has stressed that more can be achieved if the public play their part in looking after the environment.
‘Since 1 June, almost 14 000 potholes have been fixed. This is an indication of how we have ramped up capacity following the impact of the rainy season and the national lockdown on the reach of repair and maintenance work. Over the past few weeks, the City has intensified service delivery efforts and I have personally joined city staff to check up on pothole repairs and to participate in clean-ups with the City’s solid waste staff. Through these visits, we want to show residents that we are working hard to return to optimal service delivery levels through tackling the quality of roads, cleanliness and neatness of communities as well as general maintenance to provide communities with the service they have come to expect from us. For maximum impact, we will need the public to work with us as we can only achieve so much on our own,’ said Executive Mayor Dan Plato.
Last month, Mayor Dan Plato restarted the pothole and clean up campaigns to personally visit City staff on duty and join efforts to provide services to the residents of Cape Town.
City-wide, the City’s Roads Department have repaired:
- 2 776 potholes during the five-month period January 2020 until the end of May 2020
- 13 655 potholes have been repaired between 1 June 2020 to 30 November 2020
The City has contracted the services of external service providers to expand our service reach with the joint efforts of our own roads teams, through a targeted strategy to eradicate the backlog of potholes.
‘We have made considerable progress in our drive to accelerate service delivery and tackling the backlog on road maintenance and infrastructure issues.
‘We also call on communities and road users to please contribute to ensuring the lifespan of our road network. Please do not dump waste in stormwater inlets next to the roads as this is meant for runoff from rainfall only. When stormwater inlets get blocked, the water cannot enter the stormwater system, meaning the water collects on the road surface and causes flooding, and ultimately, potholes form and the road surface and infrastructure are damaged.
Overloading remains the scourge of road authorities. This often causes deformation on the road in the form of rutting along the wheel paths and the dams in these ruts – these lead to the demise of the road, besides being dangerous to the road user depending on the circumstances, especially in wet weather.
‘People seldom make the connection between abusive practices and the deterioration of our road infrastructure. We have a road maintenance plan and we are doing all we can to eradicate the backlogs caused due to COVID-19, however, we need our residents and road users to work with us,’ said Alderman Purchase.
Residents can report potholes to the Transport Information Centre on 080 065 6463. This is a 24/7 information centre and is toll-free from a landline or a cell phone. Alternatively, a mail can be sent to Transport.Info@capetown.gov.za. You can also contact our Customer Call Centre on 0860 103 089.
With the relaxation to Alert Level 1, the City has once again seen an increase in litter. The clean-up campaign is intended to remind all that while City staff are performing their best to maintain the cleanliness of communities, it needs the support of residents to keep neighbourhoods looking neat and tidy.
‘There are no winners when it comes to illegal dumping, which degrades our areas and places an enormous strain on limited financial and staff resources. There are more than 2 700 illegal dumping hotspots across the metro, and the Department of Solid Waste Management works throughout the year to visit and clear these, to the tune of an estimated 232 714 tons of illegal dumping cleared per year. Dumping in certain hotpots is so rife that almost immediately after our specialised cleansing unit leaves the area, more waste is dumped, and the site looks as if nothing has been cleared at all. There are 27 waste drop-off facilities across Cape Town, which residents and small businesses can make use of free of charge. The City will continue to play its part but it is critical that communities play their part in making responsible and legal waste management choices, and reporting illegal dumping when they see it,’ said Alderman Xanthea Limberg, Mayoral Committee Member for Water & Waste.
Illegal dumping is harmful and against the law. Vehicles used in illegal dumping can be confiscated and a release fee of more than R17 000 will be charged, over and above the fines issued for dumping. To report illegal dumping, please call 0860 103 089.
We call on our residents to come out and support the campaign. #KeepCapeTownClean!