The City plans to complete most of Imizamo Yethu’s road repairs before the builders’ holiday later this month.
The City started repairing the roads on November 2, resurfacing NR Mandela and Oliver Tambo roads, H Peterson and M Peterson avenues, as well as Molokoane and R Sobukwe streets.
Pavements along sections of NR Mandela and Oliver Tambo roads are also being repaired, along with kerbs along NR Mandela Road.
Workers will also repaint road markings and complete patch work around the traffic circle at the entrance to Imizamo Yethu, according to Roberto Quintas, the mayoral committee member for transport and Hout Bay’s ward councillor, .
“I visited Imizamo Yethu on Friday afternoon, and I was heartened to see that the project is moving along rapidly, thanks to the contractor and transport officials, with the support from local residents and the minibus-taxi operators.
“If all goes as planned, the majority of the work on the roads will be complete in time for the builders’ holiday and before the festive season starts. This will benefit all who live and move around in Imizamo Yethu,” he said.
Earlier this year, Imizamo Yethu residents took to the streets to protest over the poor state of their roads (“IY residents vent their road rage,” Sentinel News, September 17, 2021).
Resident Ayanda Mntengwana said she hoped the repairs being done now would last a long time.
“This is a project that had to have been completed years ago. Now the extent of the problem is so bad they keep having to patch up here and there. I only hope the work will be done properly so that they will not have to return to fix all the time.
“There is not going to be a good ending if this is not done because our people have been asking for this problem to be resolved for years and every time they get temporary solutions.”
Taxi driver Yonelisa Mkune said he was happy with the work that had been done so far and had already noticed improvements.
“We are happy to see the City giving us proper roads because, truth be told, IY has never had any proper roads, and we have always been given patches of tar. For us drivers, these roads are bad, and our taxis cannot handle it.”
Asked what would happen if the work was not done properly, he said: “That will be your next front-page story because these people have had enough.”
Community leader Kenny Tokwe said he was monitoring the quality of the work.
“We know that the City of Cape Town is making some real headway, but I will continue to check up on the quality of the work as I have heard there are members of the community that are not happy about the work,” he said.
Mr Quintas said the community could protect the repaired roads by not dumping foreign objects into stormwater drains as they caused blockages that flooded roads.
