Red tape trips up free pothole repairs

2012-05-04 15:16

Johannesburg - Red tape has led to the City of Johannesburg losing out on the free repair of potholes following month-long delays in the tender process, The Star reported on Friday.

The Dial Direct and LeadSA free pothole repair service, which had led to the fixing of over 30 000 potholes across the city, will cease operation on June 1.

After months of waiting for the tender to be made public, insurance company Dial Direct decided to stop operations at the end of May.

"We learnt the hard way when our Pothole Brigade initiative, which cost the company R1m a month to maintain... got entangled in red tape and tender processes that never materialised," the company's senior executive Bradley du Chenne said.

Motorists had until the end of the month to report potholes.

The project came to a halt after city service providers complained the initiative did not comply with the Municipal Financial Management Act.

Johannesburg Roads Agency spokesperson Thulani Makhubela told The Star: "The city deliberated extensively about this and it was decided it had to be an open and transparent process."

- SAPA