Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Doreen Wessels and Sesotho soundbite by David Masoeu MPL.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Phumelela will table formal written questions at the next Ordinary Council Meeting regarding the collapse of road maintenance in Warden and the Phumelela Local Municipality’s failure to maintain its road infrastructure.
Recent DA oversight inspections have confirmed that the municipality has allowed the internal road network to deteriorate to a point where it is increasingly unsafe for public use, placing residents, motorists and school transport operators at significant risk.
The current state of neglect is largely due to the municipality’s mechanical fleet’s systemic collapse. Despite the town previously having its own road maintenance equipment, there is currently no functional grader available to service the region. This failure has left gravel roads impassable and main arteries riddled with potholes that have gone unpatched for months.
The DA notes that the municipality’s inability to maintain its “yellow fleet” means that even basic grading and levelling of roads have ground to a halt. Faded road markings and unmaintained surfaces are creating high-risk environments for both motorists and school transport.
While the municipality continues to struggle with budget overruns in administrative costs, frontline service delivery, such as road repairs, has been treated as an afterthought.
It is a dereliction of duty to leave residents to navigate these “ghost roads” while the municipality fails to prioritise basic infrastructure.
The residents of Warden pay their rates and deserve roads that are safe, maintained, and reliable. The DA will continue to fight until the municipality puts the safety of our residents first.