Press Statement By – Fiona Pelman, DA Councillor in Govan Mbeki Local Municipality
-The roads in Extension 23, Secunda, are in a terrible state.
-Residents are being forced to drive on pavements.
-We asked the Executive Mayor to look into this and take accountability.
11 September 2026
Release: Immediate
The DA in Govan Mbeki calls on the Executive Mayor, Nhlakanipho Zuma, and his administration to urgently attend to deteriorating roads and pothole crisis in Ward 21, particularly in Extension 23, Secunda.
In March 2025, the Executive Mayor acknowledged the DA’s concerns regarding the potholes in Ext 23 and indicated that this ward would be prioritised in the municipality’s ongoing road maintenance programme, subject to the “limited resources” available to the municipality.
Currently, the roads in Ext 23 have deteriorated even further. In some sections, the condition is now so bad that motorists are being forced to drive onto the pavement simply to navigate around the damaged roadway. This is no longer merely a pothole problem. It has become a serious road safety and service delivery crisis.
Concerningly, a motion was passed for the paving of the entrance at Van der Stel Street, yet residents are still waiting for this intervention to materialise.
For over a year, the municipality has been giving the same excuse of limited resources. Yet residents can see road repairs and maintenance taking place elsewhere within the municipality.
It is particularly concerning when residents in DA-held wards continue watching their roads deteriorate while road repairs are visibly undertaken in ANC-held wards.
This raises a legitimate question that the municipality must answer: Are road maintenance resources being allocated purely according to service-delivery needs, or are political considerations influencing where those resources are being spent?
Ward 21 residents pay rates and taxes like everyone else. They have the same right to safe roads, functioning infrastructure and basic municipal services.They should not have to risk tyres, rims and their personal safety simply to travel to work, take their children to school or leave their own neighbourhood.
Residents should take note of these shortcomings and vote for the DA for change. We are ready to work for all residents. Under a DA government, municipal budget to ensure regular maintenance and upgrading of roads, intersections, traffic signals and signage to reduce congestion and improve road safety. Ext 23 cannot survive on promises made in letters. It needs graders, paving, asphalt, repairs and an actual maintenance programme on the ground.
For media queries:
Fiona Pelman
DA Councillor in Govan Mbeki
066 279 6069