Durban - eThekwini Municipality residents were divided after the City announced that the road providing access to Umlazi, south of Durban, was open.
The municipality made the announcement, “South Coast road access to Umlazi is now open” on Sunday on its Facebook page.
On Saturday, the municipality had updated residents that they were working to reopen access to Umlazi.
In the past, when social media users were unhappy about the time it took municipalities to fix roads, they would compare South Africa with countries like Japan where roads are apparently fixed within a short space of time.
Reacting to the news of the road being fixed so swiftly, many Facebook users applauded the municipality, while others said it was the first time the City had acted so quickly. Yet others remained unimpressed noting that it was municipality’s job anyway.
Here are some of the reactions:
Bronwyn Summers: “Well done!!! It's a long way to recovery. Let's keep these workers motivated people!!!”
Mark Koch: “Jeepers, one project and everyone singing praises, what about the people who don’t have water and there isn’t a water truck available, what about the M7 that hasn’t been cleared yet and people who can’t get to their houses? The management and mayor's office is silent, with no communication to the people?!”
Sibusiso Sibanyoni: “This spirit of fixing roads in a few days it’s the same spirit they use when they desperately need votes then after that service delivery gets poor and poor. You did well here but use the same energy when providing equal service delivery for all people, it was important to fix the road yes but also prioritise other issues such as water supply, electricity and infrastructure trust me people will never complain at all.”
Neroshnee Cato: “This is so awesome for the people of Durban. Please can the municipality look at good drainage for all the roads that continuously take a beating when there are heavy rains, eg? The N2 near the old airport? Identify the roads that get flood-damaged and get your best engineering team working on them. South Africa is a beautiful country with world-class specialists working there. Join together and fix the country. It's the only way forward.”
Sphesihle J Hadebe: “For the first time, you delivered service on time. Well done, I wish you can do the same for electricity. Service gets delivered fast if it's not done by tenderpreneurs.”
Vusteros Mahlase: “Well done, we got to give credit where it's due. Not always complaining. Preference should be given to those who need it most as Umlazi has large amounts of workers to factories, schools, businesses and lots of private and public transport use this road hence it is called Exit. It was indeed the first priority to be patient and let the municipality carry on with the good work and they can only do that successfully with our full support and ensure there are no criminal activities to cripple smooth and safe service delivery.”
Nadia Essop: “But no work has even started at Hans Dettman? Municipality picks and chooses where it helps and who gets help first! What about the water issues? We phone for days to complain with no answer and when you do answer you are of no help anyway. We must pick and choose when to pay rates and taxes also.”
Daily News