Durban — There’s no money to fix Earl Haig Road in Morningside, more than a year after a burst water pipe caused deep cracks and sinkholes to develop in the road surface and after a taxi slipped into one.
Ratepayers are livid that they will now have to wait even longer for the road to be repaired after a portion of it was cordoned off.
This past week, eThekwini Municipality told the Sunday Tribune that the City’s road and stormwater unit was working to secure a budget to complete the project, possibly in the next few weeks.
“The City acknowledges the inconvenience caused by the condition of Earl Haig Road. Despite initial efforts to repair the road, it was found that the damage is extensive and requires significant work before it can be reopened,” said municipal spokesperson Gugu Sisilana.
Residents from the area recently complained that people were using the sinkholes as a rubbish dump and that rats had also made them their home.
The Overport Ratepayers’ Association (ORA) says people are fed up because, despite paying exorbitant amounts for services, there’s still no service delivery.
ORA chairperson Abdool Valodia, the councillor in Ward 31, which includes Asherville, Overport, Sydenham and Musgrave, said there was always money set aside for natural disasters, and the Earl Haig Road sinkhole was classified as such.
“If a sinkhole comes, you don’t need a budget for a sinkhole because it’s classified as a disaster. It is natural. So we know, for a fact, there’s always money available.”
He said it was unacceptable that Earl Haig Road had not been fixed. Valodia said previously that they had called a meeting with former mayor Mxolisi Kaunda to complain about the lack of service delivery. He said that, collectively, residents in his area paid R1 billion in service fees, but were not getting value for their money.
“Our wards are completely messed up, speaking with regard to service delivery. And as a paying client, we say we pay rates and we pay our taxes. And we are not happy with the City and how it was managed,” Valodia said.
He called on councillors to step up and do the work they were paid to do because many of them were invisible, and when ratepayers had problems they were unavailable to help.
“So ratepayers’ associations are becoming like the municipality now. Try to take problems to the municipality and say, please help now. Because as an individual, when you have a problem, where do you go? Your councillor won’t even communicate with you. A lot of people don’t go to councillors,” Valodia said.
Meanwhile, Morningside resident Neetu Chetty, who has been campaigning for the road’s repair via emails to the municipality, has warned that if the matter is left unresolved it could have dire consequences for the safety of residents and motorists in the area.
“The road is not exactly safe, as it continues to deteriorate. Prevention is better than cure. As the road continues to deteriorate, there is a risk of eventual collapse, which could be detrimental to residents,” said Chetty.
Sunday Tribune