By Mumtaz Moosa Saley

Driving in many areas of Gauteng is like playing a game of dodge the pothole! For many motorists, this dangerous game has become a daily occurrence and as things go, it seems as if though, taxpaying citizens may have to wait longer before any effort is made to change this situation.

Johannesburg Road Agency is unable to produce asphalt at its multi-million rand plant that was acquired in 2017. As the lockdown levels ease and the Road Agency has said it was dealing with the backlog, caused by a shortage of materials, however, according to mainstream media this was not the case. The reality is that not a single grain of asphalt had been produced in the last five months at the plant in Johannesburg.

The plant was supposed to be the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of speeding up service delivery, however, the plant itself had major setbacks due to operational issues as well as constant machine breakdowns. The plant since its buy-over in 2017 has not met any of the targets and face challenges in the long run.

What does this mean? Well, the roads Agency are attending to the backlog as can be seen by the major upgrades taking place in Rosebank and other areas.