City of Tshwane's MMC for Roads and Transport, Tlangi Mogale under criticism over pothole remarks.
Image: Supplied/ City of Tshwane
Tlangi Mogale, Tshwane's Member of the Mayoral Committee for Road and Transport, is facing a social media backlash after criticising Ga-Rankuwa residents for filling potholes with soil, calling their actions unlawful and implying that black leaders are being unfairly portrayed as uncaring.
She was reacting to a social media video that showed some residents filling potholes with soil at a road intersection in the township.
Mogale posted on X: “You have never filled potholes or resorted to these unlawful acts when the white racists were running the city. This is totally wrong and unacceptable. No amount of anger or frustration warrants this kind of behaviour, a behaviour that we only see when it is black government at the helm. We are six months in government and already our own people are projecting us as leaders who do not care when we actually do. I will never agree with this.”
The post, which was screenshotted and shared on other social media platforms, sparked outrage among residents, who accused Mogale of neglecting service delivery issues in the area.
One comment read: "Stupid leader, the community has been fixing many potholes, and the MMC can't act holier than thou. We have young men fixing potholes every day. The mess starts in their office. Should the community wait 10 years for a black government to fix this or only during election campaigns?"
Another resident asked: “So we were supposed to wait for them to be in government for how long to fix our streets? They have been promising us lies, they even lied on a video that Zone 5 will start its tar road project in March.”
Another challenged the MMC to go and lend a helping hand or provide resources to support the initiative, instead of spending time to write a statement on X.
“The MMC's comment is rather disheartening to say the least. Residents of Ga-Rankuwa deserve to be serviced like all the other Region 1 areas she has made her mission to visit. We won't sit and be quiet because we fear being labelled. It is also unacceptable that we drive on such roads, risking damage to our cars and still expected to pay our rates and taxes to the municipality. Leadership unfortunately comes with criticism,” said a resident.
Mogale's post comes after Pretoria North's Ward 2 Councillor, Quentin Meyer, was recently accused by the Section 79 Committee for Roads and Transport of taking matters into his own hands on a public road by planting trees in a road filled with potholes.
Meyer defended his actions, saying it was a form of protest against Tshwane's poor service delivery, which he believes has left the area neglected.
Committee chairperson Ngoako Seanego questioned why Meyer did not wait for Mayor Nasiphi Moya to respond to his concerns after he wrote to her office about service delivery issues in his ward.
rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za
