As citizens of this country, we are no longer surprised or shocked when we hear stories about municipalities that fail to maintain their infrastructure.
We all witness, daily, roads that have bad markings, non-functional traffic lights, and some intersections that have even been turned into 4-way stops.
We drive at night on streets and highways in pitch darkness due to streetlights that don’t work. We see sewage flowing in our streets and roads that flood when it rains due to drains that are blocked.
These are just a few examples of the failure of municipalities.
Today, Sowetan reports about the R22m Makhuvha Sports Complex near Thohoyandou, Limpopo, which is a shadow of its former self. What was built to uplift the community, develop the youth, and even host Premier Soccer League teams is now in a sad state of disrepair.
Swimming pools hold puddles of filthy water. The stadium, which was completed in December 2012, was the home ground for Black Leopards. Today, there is no running water, and the lights on the grandstand don’t work.
We live in a water-scarce country, where citizens battle for clean water daily. The problems and reasons for this scarcity vary, with much finger-pointing as to who is to blame. But the common denominator is infrastructure. Some argue that it is sufficient, others that it is just badly maintained.
Bridges across the county are unsafe and in some areas nonexistent after flash flooding sweeps them away. Communities in some areas have even resorted to raising funds and building their own bridges after being ignored for too long by their municipalities.
Local governments need to prioritise where their money gets spent. The problems needing attention are many, but access to clean water should be priority number one.
Citizens in our beloved country have become immune to and even lethargic about service delivery or the lack thereof, accepting it even.
But as tax-paying residents, we too have a duty, and that is to be proactive.
Report problems when they are small. Pester those in authority to fix one light before the entire street falls into darkness.
Let’s get authorities to fix a leak when it is small before the whole pipe collapses.
It is the job of municipalities to deliver services and maintain our infrastructure.
But the problems are overwhelmingly many. Let’s all do our part to help each other and ensure that we get the service delivery we deserve.
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