TOP Star Taxi Association in Mbombela claims that the City of Mbombela has neglected the Nelspruit taxi ranks and its surroundings.

The taxi association is concerned about the drainage system at the rank which is causing flooding.

They allege that they have reported this problem but nothing has been resolved since last year.

The operators accuse the municipal officials of closing the drainage system which leads to flooding. As it has been raining the past few days the area is flooded and this is where some of the minibus taxis are parked.

Taxi operators, who use this road on a daily basis also say the state of the road is a huge inconvenience.

The road has potholes which are damaging vehicles.

The association says it reported these issues to the municipality with little to no response.

Rank Manager July Ndzimande says, “It is not the first time we complained about the drainage systems that are overflowing all over. We are not happy the way the municipality is treating us. They are taking the own time to fix even if you reported the problem to them to fix so we are concerned.”

The road leading into town from the taxi rank is flooded. However, the municipality says they are aware of the condition of the road and it will be fixed in due course.

Municipal spokesperson Joseph Ngala, “We are aware of the situation as you can see behind you because of the rain unfortunately we can do any work. When the rain has subsided, our teams would be back to open up the storm water drain and also patch the potholes so that our commuters as well as out taxi operators can operate here smoothly.”

The taxi operators also complain about the road in the Nelspruit CBD which is full of potholes and rubbish on sidewalks.