Going to pot... Major potholes on the corner of Grayston and Rivonia Road and on Rivonia Road have still not been properly repaired.

Abed Ahmed

Sandton central business district and surrounding suburbs have endured an unprecedented decline in basic service delivery over the past year.

And with the 2010 Fifa World Cup literally around the corner, residents are left with an an unsurprisingly pessimistic attitude regarding the readiness for the World Cup in Africa’s economic hub and major tourist city.

Basic problems that have long awaited urgent maintenance include:

Poor condition of major roads which also includes the potholes at major intersections. The intersection of Grayston and Rivonia roads and on Rivonia Road are examples of this.

Out of order traffic lights, some for weeks, like those on Marlboro Drive.

Uncut or untrimmed grass, trees and bushes on city council property.

The meagre attempt to close holes and trenches dug for water pipe maintenance.

Blocked storm water drains and uncovered manholes.

Littered spruits, parks and roadsides.

The response from the City of Johannesburg call centre is a standard – ‘…we will attend to the matter within the next two weeks.’

Weeks, sometimes months, pass and the peril on roads remains, only to worsen in rainy weather.

The municipality is now unfortunately stooping to new lows by blaming the lack of service on acts of God.

Sandton Central Management District (SCMD) has admitted there is a lull in work being carried out by relevant utilities, and has resorted to pushing the workers at depot level to sort issues out.

“We are adamant that we will get the problem with service delivery turnaround time under better control, not just for the World Cup but on an ongoing basis,” said Paul van Rooyen, SMCD regional operations manager.

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abed@caxton.co.za