No one has been forgotten – mayor

TSHWANE: GRASS IS BEING CUT, COMMUNITIES WILL BE VISITED

1. Why has the mayor not visited any townships since the local government elections to hear from people if they are happy? And if not, what are their new concerns? – Mary Choma, Mamelodi.

As you will appreciate, I have been visiting communities throughout my tenure thus far and I will continue to visit every region and all communities in due course.

I have a duty to balance some of the meetings with important stakeholders to bring about the change I promised and will bring to Tshwane and its people. No one in this city has been forgotten and I will get to as many people as I possibly can in due course.

2. The residents of Eersterust are concerned about the grass not being cut in their parks and open fields, making it a hiding spot for criminals. Why did the city slack on this because it was normally done on time before? – Patrick Louw, Eersterust.

I can confirm that the grass cutting of the road verges commenced on March 13 in Eersterust.

We are currently busy in Hans-Coverdale West and will continue until the entire suburb is serviced. The Eersterust Stadium was cut last week.

I must indicate that the city has about five months backlog due to the following reasons:

The unusually good rainfall, coupled with the late start to our grass cutting, which was a direct result of hitches with the procurement section which were only resolved mid-January, has resulted in a backlog throughout the region.

With the limited resources at our disposal, it is difficult to get ahead of the needs. It is not only Eersterust which needs attention, all our suburbs are similarly affected.

However, despite these challenges we remain committed to getting all areas serviced, all hands are on deck and we hope to eradicate these backlogs as soon as possible.

It should also be noted that the limited resources at our disposal also mean that the frequency of the cutting of grass has been reduced to match our means, with the result that we cannot maintain areas as often as we would like.

Although these are the realities we are faced with, I can state that the grass should never be allowed to grow so long as to detract from the image which we would like to portray as a city.

3. People in Atteridgeville complain about illegal dumping sites near Kalafong hospital in Pretoria West. It is a health risk. What is being done? – Katlego Monama, Atteridgeville.

The city condemns illegal dumping. Over time, our agriculture and environmental department has undertaken awareness campaigns aimed at eradicating illegal dumping and educating communities on the utilisation and preservation of open spaces. Anyone participating in illegal dumping is contravening our by-laws.

Members of the community are urged to exercise discipline and refrain from dumping rubbish at random open spaces as this poses a serious health risk. The city has a waste collection service that is made available to all communities in Tshwane.

The illegal dumping site in Kalafong will be escalated to the attention of the relevant regional executive director to take action.

4. Will the poorer areas in Hammanskraal, for example Makapanstad and Marokolong, ever get a proper plumbing system? – Anonymous

Makapanstad is not within the boundaries of Tshwane; it is under NW (Moretele).

Also note that Marokolong falls within tribal authorities and currently there are no agreements in place between the tribal authority and the city.

We only have a council resolution with the Amandebele a-Lebelo for the Suurman area where an MOU still needs to be finalised. – askyourmayor@citizen.co.za