Mayor speaks on service issues
Power and water cuts were the main items on the agenda as residents of Victoria Park, Sabatha Dalindyebo, Newvale and Aloe Vale met with Enoch Mgijima local municipality (EMLM) executive mayor Sisisi Tolashe at Ashley Wyngaardt Hall on Sunday.
EMLM Proportional Representation councillor Adele Hendricks said the community members of the affected areas had raised concern over numerous electricity and water outages and had wanted to meet with the mayor.
She said a ward meeting on Friday with the residents had resulted in a renewed call to meet the mayor. In addition to concerns over water cuts, complaints over speeding through the central road in Victoria Park and the use of the Dumpy Adams sports complex by young drug-users were raised.
Hendricks said some of the children were also sleeping on premises of the sport complex.
She said this matter fell under her portfolio and she would investigate what measures could be put into place to resolve what was happening at the complex.
A lack of street lights, which raised additional crime fears, would also receive attention, she said. “Community members were unhappy with the communication on the electricity and water cuts which caused frustration. The ward councillors and committees and the EMLM communications department should work together. It was raised in the meeting on Friday that as much as the role of the Border Kei Chamber of Business’s Adrè Bartis [in communicating] was appreciated, she was not the spokesperson of the municipality.”
She called on the EMLM communications section to improve communication with the community.
Tolashe said water and sanitation were a problem in the residential areas concerned and EMLM was working with CHDM to resolve the issues.
“People will understand that we are in a serious drought. We are being redirected to get our water from Xonxa Dam. I guess by the end of September that project may be concluded.”
The municipality was no longer building any RDP houses for this financial year but only fixing those which had not been properly constructed.
“As far as debts, I know people are anxious. There was something in The Rep two weeks ago, where a company took EMLM to court claiming R1-million – it’s a Nkwanca [former Nkwanca Municipality] which was amalgamated into EMLM) matter, not a Mgijima one,” she said.
Tolashe said a meeting with the technical services in the municipality was to be organised to explain electricity problems to the affected communities.
She said the municipality would attend to the street lights being on during the day, but asked for patience as due processes had to take place.
When community members were given a chance to ask questions, some thanked Tolashe for explaining the electricity and water outages and appealed for a technical team to visit the area within seven days.
Speeding was raised as an urgent matter in need of attention due to alleged drunken drivers racing in Central Road, Opel Road and Glover Road and taxi drivers who allegedly had no respect for pedestrians.
Street lights that were allegedly on during the day but off during the night and illegal dumping were raised as problems.
The residents also called for the impounding of stray cows in the area and said more items were due to be added to the memorandum to the municipality.