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On 18 November 2020, Newcastle Mayor, Cllr Dr Nthuthoko Mahlaba officially kicked off the Festive Resurfacing Programme. During the launch of the initiative, the mayor elaborated that part of this campaign was to ensure Newcastle roads are safe.
With the end of January 2021 fast approaching, is the Newcastle Municipality still as motivated on improving the state of our town’s roads? And what are the local councillors take on the matter?
Alex Liu, a businessman and municipal councillor, explains the roads are in a sordid state, highlighting streets such as Marconi Drive, Gutenberg Street and Stephenson Street in Riverside Industrial. “I must say, we understand the financial situation of Newcastle Municipality, but I feel the technical services department needs to have a workshop with the council. There are long-standing infrastructure issues, with the roads being just one problem.”
Moreover, Liu admits that the Municipality cannot be expected to fix everything at once. However, the Newcastle Municipality must establish a plan of action to address these age-old problems.
Bebsie Cronje, DA Ward Councillor, believes Newcastle’s streets are in an appalling condition. “The Newcastle Municipality needs to pull up its socks. I feel that there is a lack of leadership in the technical services department.”
Describing the technical services as non-functional, Cronje feels it is paramount that something is done to address the department’s issues.
In response to the above, Head of Communications at Newcastle Municipality, Mlungisi Khumalo assures the community that Newcastle’s roads will be attended to. “The construction, resealing and repairing of roads is an ongoing process. We can’t really say that we’ve finished, because a number of unforeseen circumstances can lead to roads being damaged, such as inclement weather conditions or an increase of heavy motor vehicles in some parts of our roads.”
He highlights that the Newcastle Municipality is closely monitoring roads’ conditions, and where urgent attention is needed, a team is then dispatched. In addition, Khumalo further states, “There is a strategic plan at hand, which will ensure that we complete certain roads at a particular timeframe. So far, we are pleased to confirm that we have been on track. Last week, we embarked on a program to remove overgrown alien plants on the side of the road and also removed overgrown vegetation. We are very pleased with the steady progress that we are making as a municipality.”
Considering the magnitude and reality of the situation, when can Newcastillians realistically expect repairs to roads in residential areas?
“Once we detect an issue with any road and also depending on the severity of the damage, then we are prompted to act. The Municipality always tries to fix all roads across our Municipality. If we can achieve our target of having to fix each and every pothole, then we would have done very well. That is our target, after all, making potholes a thing of the past.”
As the Municipality addresses Newcastle’s roads’ conditions, Khumalo points out that the government entity is calling upon community members to exercise patience while dealing with the issue of roads in our Municipality.
Concluding, he says, “We are forever grateful and appreciative that the community of Newcastle is always willing to work with us whenever we initiate road works projects. Whenever we have signs on the roads during road works, residents adhere to these signs and often at times encourage the municipality employees for the sterling work that they do. We strongly believe that Newcastle is on the verge of definitely becoming one of the best municipalities in the country. Mayor Dr Ntuthuko Mahlaba is pleased with the progress that our town is making and hopes that once COVID-19 is over, we can all work together to rebuild our local economy.”
With these words in mind, what are your thoughts? Share your views with us in the comment section below.
3 Responses
Before every summer the grass was cut in areas were it tends to over grow….but summer will be soon over and the grass at the corner of Henrietta Street is so high making it safe havens for criminals n hiding of stolen goods. Added to this is the dumping which the debris are washed onto our yards when it rains n the snakes n weird insects n flies that are infested here. 2 Tractors came round in December only for the drivers to sit n have their lunch n they were gone, no cutting at all was done. Can this be addressed please via this mail.
Never mind the condition of the roads that are horrific, but also the terrible state of our town. The grass is never cut. Newcastle looks absolutely unkept and untidy
Never seen our beautiful town in such a sorry state, as for fixing potholes, yea right only in certain areas, some streets in residential areas are half the usual width due to overgrown bushes, but who cares? Promises, promises, just like all streetlights will be working before new year shame