Kempton Park residents frustrated as potholes on Jacoba Loots Road remain unrepaired

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21-01-2026
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Kempton Express
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Residents in parts of Kempton Park have raised safety concerns after potholes on Jacoba Loots Road in Croydon remained unrepaired for months, despite being reported repeatedly to the City of Ekurhuleni.

Service delivery remains a concern for residents in parts of Kempton Park, with ongoing infrastructure issues reportedly left unresolved despite being logged multiple times.

Jacoba Loots Road in Croydon is one of several streets still affected by potholes that residents say have been present for some time.

Resident Jackie Griessel said she had reported the potholes to the municipality since October 20.

When the Kempton Express visited the area on January 16, the road was still unrepaired.

According to Griessel, the potholes are a serious safety risk to motorists, as some are large and located in a single lane, forcing cars travelling in opposite directions to use the same lane.

“These potholes are so large that they pose a risk to traffic. Drivers are literally swerving to the other side of the road into oncoming traffic to avoid these potholes.

“It gets worse at night because not all the streetlights work and it gets dark due to the trees in the area. There is also a huge pothole spanning the road surface on Die Agora Road near the entrance of the Croydon Bakery,” said Griessel.

The potholes are near numbers 38 and 33 Jacoba Loots Road, among others, with more than two reported on the street.

Griessel logged the issue again on December 7, adding that she had experienced ongoing difficulties reporting the problem through the municipal app, similar to challenges encountered in October.

She reported the matter again on January 6 and 15. However, by January 16, when the Kempton Express visited Jacoba Loots Road, the potholes remained unrepaired.

Griessel also escalated the matter to CoE Ward 17 Clr Simon Lapping.

Lapping said the council had instructed the municipality to adhere to the Service Level Agreement (SLA), but claimed this was not being implemented.

“Council instructed the municipality to adhere to the SLA, and it is clear to me that municipal staff have tossed that agreement into file 13 and will do as they please, with no consequences at all.

“Every year, CoE employees get their bonuses, but won’t adhere to minimum service standards. A classic case of this is the potholes that litter our neighbourhood.

“No matter how many times residents report them, it still does not get attended to. What will happen, though, is that residents will receive a message stating ‘Issue has been resolved’.

“In my view, this is fraud, as municipal employees are pretending the issue has been resolved to ensure they meet their KPIs, which are bonus-related,” said Lapping.

Lapping added that the municipality needs to ensure potholes are properly repaired within the SLA timeframes and not provide what he described as “excuses”, such as a lack of tar.

The Kempton Express requested comment from the city on the matter, but no response was received at the time of going to print.