By Selenathi Botha
The bad roads of Makhanda have become a difficult matter for the people who suffer them, especially in a place called Hlalani location. When Grocott’s Mail visited the area, we found many people who said they were suffering because of potholes and huge ditches and crevices in the roads.
At the recent municipal Integrated Development Planning (IDP) meeting in Hlalani, a resident said that the roads in Hlalani were so bad that ambulances refused to drive on some of them.
Resident Akhona Onceya told Grocott’s Mail that people have been complaining for a while now to the municipality, and putting pressure on the council but still, there was no improvement. She said she was very hurt about this matter, and what hurts her the most is that accidents happen often because of the bad roads.
Resident David Onceya says Hlalani’s potholed roads have ruined his car. “Those things are no longer potholes, they are holes now”, he said. He added that he sometimes sees municipal vehicles transporting cement to repair the roads, but he doesn’t know where the cement goes because in Hlalani, roads are never repaired. Taxi drivers also sometimes have to change their routes to transport people because they fear for their tyres.
”The scariest part is the ambulances refusing to drive on some roads. We find it very difficult because now we have to use our own cars – or even worse use a wheelbarrow – to transport a sick person which puts him or her at risk of not getting help sooner. Some people don’t even have money to hire a car”, Onceya said.
Resident Luyanda Falteni confirmed that in order for people to use an ambulance, they have to wait for it in a place called eMahayza location which too far for people who are in urgent need of medical help. Falteni said the roads had become worse and worse over the years, despite residents reporting the potholes frequently. He said maybe changing the municipality and the government would bring change, because those currently in a position to bring about change were not doing anything about this matter.
Aletta Rhodes moved to Hlalani to be close to work and says she has had a very difficult time, because it was not easy for her family to visit her because of the bad roads. But what terrifies her the most is the matter of ambulances not being able to drive on some roads in Hlalani.
“This is really affecting us. How do you pick up someone who is very ill just to get to the main road to wait for an ambulance?” asked Rhodes. That could put the person’s life at risk, she added.
Resident Ayabulela Fihlani did not only have complaints about the potholes. He has the misfortune to have a burst sewage pipe right outside his front gate. The foul-smelling sewage runs like a river along the busy street, while school children walk next to it in order to return home.
As Grocott’s Mail interviews Fihlani, his neighbour walks past and shouts “don’t forget to mention that we are sick and tired of this!”
Fihlani told Grocott’s Mail that he was very concerned that children were playing around the sewage and that people who walked through the area would contract illnesses. He said he believes that it’s high time for people to vote for only those politicians who are willing to live in the community and see the everyday struggle of residents. Fihlani also called for an end to elderly politicians and for young people to take over.
