This morning I had to drive to the north of Johannesburg and it took twice as long as it should have. The problem was the number of traffic lights that are not working due to cable theft. The problem s every intersection becomes a 4 way stop with the majority of motorists playing a guessing game whether it is their turn or not. This is like playing chicken even when you know it is your turn to go. When most of those driving on the road do not know the rules of the road it becomes a stressful experience as you are having to think for everyone else knowing full well they have no clue.
On the way back I decided to count how many traffic lights were working which was actually quite easy being 4 and 31 out of order. These roads are not in the suburbs, but in the business section with high volumes of traffic.
Last year the traffic department replaced traffic lights at over 400 intersections and I guess they have given up. The street lights have also been disappearing at a fast rate. The entire pole used to vanish but now they just strip the wires out for the copper value. The gangs will take down dozens at a time and in certain areas it is dangerous to drive at night due to lack of road markings and cats eyes.
The basics you would find on most roads across Europe are now missing here and this is all fueled by corruption/crime. Those in charge do not care as repairs is where the corruption happens due to no accountability because it is that bad.
Back in 2010 I first encountered this when I was working late and heard what I thought was a chain saw type noise. I had no idea that someone was cutting down the traffic lights and when I knocked off noticed the lights were not only not working, but were now lying down. If I could hear this being over 500 meters away then the security should have responded as they were literally 50 meters away, but heard and saw nothing. This is the problem in the country as everyone wants to remain ignorant by seeing and hearing nothing and why no one seems to care.
This afternoon I have to do the same drive again and somehow need to avoid the rush hour traffic which would take hours. I just don't get it why people have just given up and no one has found a solution to not use cables. The heart of the problem is the high unemployment rate fueled by having open borders or corrupt border officials which is the same thing.