Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) on Friday performed an oversight visit with Transport MMC Kenny Kunene to three road infrastructure projects in Soweto.
Kunene, as usual, was immaculately dressed and wore crocodile leather shoes which he swore were old, when his staff showed concern for them getting dirty.
Heavy rains have damaged the areas because of broken or poor infrastructure. The first visit was to the new Protea Glen stormwater infrastructure, which is 46% complete.
The ward is the biggest in the city and is growing daily, and according to Kunene, the new extensions were done without proper stormwater infrastructure.
The R16 million project seeks to add stormwater pipes and upgrade existing lines at the Protea Glen Extensions.
The next stop was in Phiri where Kunene performed a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Ward 15.
Members of the JRA and other city councillors gathered at a newly built stormwater outlet costing R5.2 million.
However, residents came with a petition for the councillors, claiming that the damage to their homes during the rains resulted from the building of the outlet.
They were turned away by the councillors who said they needed to hand over the petition following proper procedures.
A community member told News24 that the JRA opened the earth for construction and then went on leave in December. The open cut, he said, allowed water to flood into his home.
“I’ve lived here 20 years, and we’ve never had flooding before now.”
Councillors promised they would take their complaints to the proper departments.
The final stop, and Kunene’s favourite project, was the R33 million Klipspruit Valley Road reconstruction in Orlando West.
In May 2021, part of the road was washed away in recurrent flooding.
The busy road has been out of commission since then, until Friday when the road opened in another ribbon-cutting ceremony.
JRA project manager Mukesh Hira said the project was set down for eight months but took longer once they discovered that the bridge over the stormwater infrastructure was constructed from corrugated iron and had eroded and collapsed with the floods.
He said this informed the replacement of the entire strip of road and not just a repair to the collapse.
A JRA member working on the bridge said the road should last 100 years and beyond if it was maintained.
He spoke anonymously about the city’s general lack of infrastructure maintenance.
“The road should have maintenance work every year for the bridge to last. This includes clearing out the sediment and other maintenance work.
“It will degrade if this is not done. The city lacks when it comes to maintenance, and it’s a challenge that all entities are having [the lack of maintenance].”
Kunene was happy with the project, but he noted that bricks from the pavement had already been stolen.
The MMC, vocal about his feelings towards foreigners, pointed to the shacks near the road.
“These bricks were stolen by foreigners because there is no way a South African would steal their own infrastructure,” he claimed without evidence.
He told residents that they were allowed to arrest citizens they saw stealing.
He said they must not beat those people, but if they were trying to get away, they could pin the transgressors to the floor and hold them down until police arrived.
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