The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on the Municipal Manager of Emthanjeni Municipality, Disang Molaole, to urgently fix the serious lack of skills, equipment, and resources that is crippling road repairs across De Aar, Britstown, and Hanover.
Roads in all three towns continue to deteriorate at an alarming rate. Potholes are left unrepaired, gravel roads are becoming impassable and residents are paying the price through vehicle damage, safety risks, and lost economic activity.
Last year, only three municipal officials attended a single virtual SANRAL pothole repair training session. This was completely inadequate. The municipality has also admitted that it does not have the correct tools or equipment to do proper road repairs. As a result, workers are still seen stamping hot asphalt with safety boots instead of using compacting machinery.
This practice is unsafe, unacceptable, and ineffective. Repairs fail within weeks, wasting public money and leaving roads in worse condition than before.
Equipment shortages have made matters worse. Of the four TLB machines previously owned by the municipality, only one is still operational. This single machine is expected to service all three towns, leading to excessive use and inevitable breakdowns. All municipal graders are currently out of service, which we believe is due to poor maintenance, lack of regular servicing, and insufficient operator training. The municipal workshop, filled with broken-down and neglected vehicles, is clear evidence of this failure.
Despite lacking both capacity and equipment, the municipality has refused a free offer from a private individual to scrape Noord and Kort Streets in De Aar. Turning away help when residents are suffering shows a complete lack of will by the municipality to improve road conditions.
The DA has submitted a formal appeal to the Municipal Manager to address these capacity and resource failures and to prioritise grader repairs and road infrastructure in the 2026/2027 financial year.
Residents are tired of excuses. They want action, safe roads, and value for their money.