Cape Town - Mayor Dan Plato on Sunday launched his pothole-repair campaign as part of his drive to improve service delivery.
Plato visited two areas with the City’s road repair staff and assisted with repairs.
He said: “The purpose of this campaign is to refocus on the basics of service delivery and to remind residents that we are committed to ensuring that more people experience the benefit of efficient service delivery.
“The formation of potholes during winter is a common occurrence as it is related to the heavy rainfalls and the age or condition of the roads. Now that the weather conditions are more favourable, City road repair teams will be hard at work repairing potholes and undertaking general maintenance across the city to ensure that the roads you drive on, travel to work on, cycle on, are in good condition. We have a plan to do permanent repairs to ensure a better quality repair.”
The campaign is part of a back-to-basics approach to service delivery. The City’s Roads Department spent R38 million addressing 19 929 pothole incidents during the 2018/19 financial year. Water is the main cause of potholes, but it can also form due to diesel spillages, vehicle collisions, fires, and inadequate road drainage. In addition to pothole-fixing, R287m is spent on resurfacing roads each year.
Mayoral committee member for transport Felicity Purchase said: “This initiative speaks to our commitment to deliver basic services that will improve the well-being of our residents and motorists. I also want to remind residents that we rely on them to inform us of potholes in their areas/streets. If we don’t know about it, we cannot fix it.”
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 cellphone.