How do people in Gauteng know when motorists are driving under the influence? They are driving straight!
It is to this type of sardonic humour that residents in all three of Gauteng’s metros have turned as a coping mechanism against the proliferation of potholes, the near absence of road markings, and the reality that all too many streetlights and traffic signals are simply not working.
The poor state of the roads, together with leaks (or dug-up pavements and roads where water leaks have been left only partially repaired for months), and piles of rubbish where refuse removal is sorely inadequate, are the most obvious outward signs that the three metropolitan councils in the province are both broken and broke.
Less visible from street level, but as acutely felt by residents and businesses alike is the erratic supply of water and electricity services, chronic billing inaccuracies and ongoing tussles over property valuations that push up rates unjustifiably.
These are the spillover effects of years of municipal mismanagement and neglect, as well as corruption and looting , the scale of which is being brought to light only partially through the disgraceful revelations at the Madlanga Commission.
