Mr Willie Agenbacht, chairman of the Gister-se-Jeug Club in Louis Trichardt, sent in the following letter with copies to the Makhado municipal manager and mayor:

It is now almost four months later and progress with the repair of the roads in town has been slow to non-existent, despite a substantial budget for this purpose.

Before the Kremetart Cycle Tour, the route involved was attended to, but only the route. Before the election, some more window dressing was done, when a few holes were quickly filled, but only the busiest routes were selected and it was done só fast, that some of the fillings are already crumbling away again. In certain streets, some welcome repair work was commenced after approximately 15 years of no maintenance. No wonder that a significant percentage of the original tarred surface was no longer there. This work is now lying half-finished because of “shortage of material.”

The point is that the great majority of potholes have not been attended to, apart from filling them with gravel, sand and ordinary soil, often making a shabby, muddy mess when it rains. The only difference is that the holes are now bigger and deeper than four months ago. The rainy season is approaching. One of these days the excuse will change from “shortage of material” to “it is raining” and, while we keep on paying our dues, nothing happens from the municipality’s side.

Is this a situation that you would be satisfied with if you were in our shoes? We could barely imagine that it would satisfy you! Fact is, we are on our own. The municipality turns a cold shoulder and insurance companies no longer cover damage to vehicles caused by potholes.
Furthermore, some employee, or perhaps even a whole section, within the municipal machine is malfunctioning and should either be forced to accept their responsibilities, or else be replaced with persons who are capable of performing the duties that are now hanging in the air.

Considering this, it is not strange that residents in some other parts of the country get so desperate that they burn down property out of frustration.