GOOD Statement by Siyabulela Mamkeli,
GOOD City of Cape Town Councillor
21 April 2026
The ongoing dysfunction of the Democratic Alliance-led City of Cape Town’s reporting systems during the recent rainfall has directly contributed to delays in service delivery, particularly in addressing critical road hazards such as potholes and flooding.
Residents have been unable to log service requests through the City App at the very moment when demand is highest. This failure has created a backlog of unreported and unattended issues, leaving dangerous conditions on our roads for extended periods. The consequences are now evident: large, water-filled potholes forcing vehicles to swerve, increasing the risk of accidents and placing lives in danger.
A reporting system that collapses under pressure is not merely a technical issue; it is a systemic failure that undermines the City’s ability to respond effectively to infrastructure damage caused by adverse weather.
This situation has been so severe that I was forced to escalate the matter directly via email to the Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility Directorate Mayoral Committee Member Rob Quintas, and the Urban Mobility Executive Director, as normal reporting channels were non-functional. This raises serious concerns about operational readiness, particularly when senior officials are not readily accessible over weekends, even as Cape Town faces weather-related disruptions.
We call on Executive Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and MMC Quintas to urgently account for this dysfunction. Residents deserve a clear explanation of why critical reporting systems were not operational during peak periods, and what immediate measures will be implemented to ensure reliability going forward.
The City must also outline contingency mechanisms to ensure that service requests can be logged and addressed without disruption, particularly during high-risk periods such as heavy rainfall.
Failure to do so will continue to expose residents to avoidable risks and reflect a broader breakdown in infrastructure management and responsiveness.
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