Civil rights group AfriForum has lauded the Gauteng Provincial Government’s (GPG) commitment to expedite repairs and re-open Wierda Road (M10) in Centurion, Gauteng before the end of September.
Wierda Road was closed down in November 2022 due to a sinkhole, cutting off a main arterial route linking the western suburbs with Centurion CBD and the N14 and N1 highways.
A long six months after the closure, “government officials were still trying to determine which sphere of government, or possibly the Gautrain, should take responsibility for repairing the road,” said AfriForum.
Following numerous complaints from businesses and residents in the area, and a letter from AfriForum sent to the Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport, Kedibone Diale Tlabela, the GPG finally agreed to cooperate with its citizens and private contractors to repair the M10 with haste.
“This was the beginning of a unique and very successful engagement between government, civil society, businesspeople, private contractors, and service providers to speedily assess the extent of the sinkhole and develop a plan to fix it to ensure the road is reopened,” said AfriForum.
Words put into action
Since the GPG’s commitment to expedite the repair of Wierda Road, there have been regular early-morning meetings to assess the damages and the work that must be done, which were attended by the Deputy Director General (DDG) for Roads and Transport, Mmaphuti Mokobane, and various senior members of his department, as well as Anton Els and Pieter Smith from Lots of Pots Centurion and the AfriForum team including advocate Gerrie Nel.
Words were soon put into action, and repair work began in earnest with heavy machinery moved to the site for excavation and earthworks, with DDG Mokobane guaranteeing that the road would be reopened before the end of September.
“Opportunities to commend the government do not come often, but we commend Mr Mokobane and his team. We hope that the success has impressed on all the realisation of the effect of open engagement and commitment to solving infrastructure problems,” said Nel.
“The business community, particularly Anton Els and Pieter Smith from Lots of Pots, illustrated that more can be achieved, and community concerns addressed through open and constructive engagement rather than having to take to the streets in violent protest seeking to attract attention to problems which severely impact the livelihood of affected communities.”
Many community members, especially businesses including KappiChino coffee bar, Lots of Pots, Royal Elephant Hotel, and Sasol Lyttelton Manor have been severely impacted by the closure of Wierda Road, with Lots of Pots’ Pieter Smith revealing that the company has seen a marked reduction in customers over the last 10 months due to the length of the detour they were forced to take.
“Not only did the closure of the road negatively impact Lots of Pots Centurion, but other businesses, residents, and commuters also suffered for the past 10 months,” said Smith.
“Lots of Pots is very grateful for the cooperation and commitment we had from authorities and other stakeholders regarding the repair of Wierda Road.”
Once up and running again, the hundreds of commuters who rely on Wierda Road are expected to enjoy a significantly shorter drive than before, traffic congestion in surrounding areas will subside, and businesses along the route will have more customers on their doorsteps again.
Keyword: What road repairs in South Africa look like if government decides to cooperate