The war on road reinstatements is gaining momentum in the city of gold as Joburg Water keeps to its commitment to clear the reinstatement backlog as a matter of urgency. 

“Plugging the holes left behind on Joburg’s roads and pavements post maintenance and repair operations is critical and Joburgers have rightfully been frustrated at the pace of addressing this issue,” Environment and Infrastructure Services Department (EISD) MMC, Councillor Michael Sun said. 

“I am happy to say we have begun to turn the corner on this issue after Joburg Water committed at the start of the financial year in July to dealing with the reinstatements backlog as a matter of absolute urgency.” 

At the beginning of August, Joburg Water was faced with 2 168 reinstatements outstanding which was reduced to 1081 outstanding reinstatements by the middle of September. The aim is to complete the full reinstatement backlogs by the end of November. 

As it stands the fortnightly completion rate of reinstatement by Joburg Water is about 60%. 

Joburg Water will also ensure that the work is executed timeously where roads surfaces need retarring. 

“A new golden standard of excellence has been set in Zandfontein, where at the end of August Joburg water had 326 reinstatements outstanding in the area. This number has been reduced to just 6 outstanding reinstatements. Meaning that in two weeks, Joburg Water have attended 320 reinstatements in the Zandfontein. For this I salute Joburg Water and its technical teams,” Cllr Sun said. 

“However, we can’t rest on this success. We must keep in mind that Johannesburg’s pipe network is still largely made up of asbestos pipelines. These are ageing and prone to frequent bursts. As a result the City’s roads and sidewalks have been dug up in many areas.” 

Residents of Johannesburg can play their role in ensuring the timeous execution of reinstatements by reporting when they encounter them immediately to Joburg Water.