TO ACCELERATE service delivery and speed up repairs of infrastructure damaged during the floods, eThekwini Mayor Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda unveiled 127 new vehicles to enhance the roads and stormwater management fleet. The City has made a bold move to invest R270 million to replace the fleet of heavy commercial vehicles and yellow plant vehicles. 

Mayor Kaunda unveiled the new fleet at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on 15 September. “Road infrastructure is critical in facilitating development and economic growth in the City which is why we took the decision to invest in this fleet. This new fleet will also help the City speed up the process of rehabilitating infrastructure that was damaged during the April floods,” he said. 

The move to invest in resources is in line with the commitment made by the City three years ago to invest in infrastructure to improve service delivery in eThekwini. “Recently, we launched the Cleansing and Solid Waste fleet to improve waste management in the City. Over a period of five years, we plan to spend about R500 million on waste management infrastructure. We also recently unveiled the R380 million new bus fleet to provide safe affordable and reliable transport to commuters, particularly the poor and the working class,” Mayor Kaunda explained. 

The new fleet consists of super pothole units, road patchers, high pressure jetting units, construction water tankers, ten cubic meter tippers, a combination jetting vacuum truck, crane tipper, graders as well as a lines and signs units. Currently the City has 320 vehicles which have exceeded the optimum life span of 12 years. These vehicles already require major refurbishment. This includes three vehicles that were damaged in the recent floods which need to be replaced immediately. “One of the benefits of this new fleet is that it does not require major maintenance and repairs. Therefore, people will see more of our yellow fleet in their communities maintaining and building new infrastructure,” Mayor Kaunda elaborated. 

The April floods left a trial of destruction with 60 percent of eThekwini areas inaccessible by public transport as some roads and bridges were washed away. This included areas such as Molweni, Tshelimnyama, Umzinyathi, Mpola and KwaNdengezi. Therefore, this fleet will assist to speed up the repairs and clearing of road infrastructure in these areas. “With this fleet, we will also be able to accelerate road maintenance across the City and eradicate potholes. Some of the equipment will be used to maintain our stormwater drainage system. This is critical as we are approaching the rainy season,” he said. He encouraged communities to use demarcated areas to dispose of waste to avoid blocking the drainage system. Before the unveiling of the new fleet, Mayor Kaunda joined the City’s road maintenance team on a pothole patching drive.