Urban area’s ‘rural road’
Amalinda tarred surface washed away 10 years ago
LIVING in the suburbs has an unpleasant rural aspect for Amalinda’s Ashley Road residents, who for 10 years have had to negotiate a gravel road to their homes.
Speaking to Saturday Dispatch this week, the residents, many of whom moved into homes there in the early 1990s, said there was once a thin layer of tar on the street, but it had disappeared in heavy rains and had never been replaced.
What little tar is left is riddled with potholes, and each time it rains the condition of the road worsens, with the holes increasing in size.
Residents said they had no street lights or stormwater drains either, and attempts to get Buffalo City Metro to intervene over the years had been in vain.
Resident Nkrumah Methele said BCM was not treating them like ratepayers.
“When it rains, rainwater runs right down this steep slope straight into my yard along with all the junk that it picks up along the way.
“My boundary fence will be destroyed by the water one of these days,” Methele said.
“We desperately need a new road. It doesn’t even feel like we’re in the suburbs right now because of this road. We may as well be in the rural areas.”
Poppy Mahlangeni, who moved into her house in 1994, said the lack of street lights was attracting criminals, a situation made worse by the dense bush surrounding their properties. “Criminals walk up and down here at night all the time because they have the cover of darkness to help them. This is why there are so many break-ins here.
“They take from our homes and stash the goods in the bushes behind our houses.”
Nondwe Dlephu said they had even taken their fight for a new road to municipal manager Andile Fani, who allegedly promised to send a team to investigate last year.
“We visited his office and we served him a letter telling him about our pain when it comes to this road. We even showed him pictures of our plight and he seemed to understand,” she said.
“As usual, we were promised that officials would come around but no one ever did. We even took those pictures door to door to every official at BCM that we can find, but still nothing has been done.”
Questions were sent to BCM spokesman Thandy Matebese on Thursday but no response had been received at the time of going to press. — zisandan@dispatch.co.za