Dienste: waarheen is George op pad?
Dr Jaap Steenkamp:
Die afgelope tyd het ons al meer ‘n probleem met vullis verwydering, maar ook met strate wat vinnig agteruitgaan en ‘n munisipaliteit waar daar individue werk wat dink hulle het geen verantwoording teenoor die inwoners van George nie.
Skrywes en telefoonoproepe word geïgnoreer wat daarop neerkom dat die inwoners se “hande afgekap” is. Hoe moet ons hierdie probleem aanspreek? Ek rig my nou tot die koerant en vertrou daar sal nou beweging kom.
In Madiba Drive het ons ‘n probleem met ‘n stormwaterpyp wat in die stroompie inkom van Glenwoodlaan af. Daar is nie ‘n rooster wat die vullis uithou uit die stroom nie. Dit is reeds jare wat ek self elke keer opruim, maar dit raak net erger! Ek is aanbeveel om met mnr. Robertson by die munisipaliteit te skakel en het aan hom e-posse gestuur op 7, 18 en 23 September. Ek het verskeie kere geskakel en kon op ‘n stadium met me. Stoffels praat, daarna is weer ‘n e-pos gestuur op 9 Oktober. Ek het tot op hede geen reaksie gekry nie, nie eers ‘n ontvangserkenning nie, maar wel bevestiging dat die e-posse afgelewer en oopgemaak is!
Op gereelde basis moet ons op kort kennisgewing verder hoor dat “sakke word nie vandag of môre verwyder nie”. Waarom betaal ons belasting as die dienste so gebrekkig is?
In my opinie moet ons eenvoudig ‘n belastingbetalersvereniging stig en belasting begin terughou of die munisipaliteit moet die dienste privatiseer of regruk. Daar is reeds mense wat sakke baie goedkoper as die munisipaliteit verwyder, maar ons gaan nie dubbeld betaal nie!
Indien die munisipaliteit interne probleme het in sekere afdelings, sal hulle daarmee moet handel. Dit is nie veronderstel om die inwoners se probleem te word nie. Ons wil graag in die Tuinroete en nie in die varkroete woon nie. Kan julle asseblief julle dienste regruk?
Is daar iemand anders as mnr. Robertson met wie ons kan skakel wat aktief werkend is by die munisipaliteit synde ons geen samewerking of reaksie van die individu ontvang nie? Municipal spokesperson Chantel Edwards-Klose:
Executive Mayor Leon Van Wyk acknowledges that there have been service delivery challenges in various directorates of the George Municipality over the past few months. While to the general public it may feel as though the pandemic is something of the past, South Africa as a country remains at Level One in terms of the Covid-19 Disaster Regulations and it is within these constraints that George
Municipality, as with all municipalities in the Western Cape, is attempting to retain service delivery standards.
The stresses and strains felt by the public in relation to the pandemic, are equally felt by officials who have worked full time throughout, at risk to their own lives. Since the initial lockdown period started in March 2020, certain directorates have experienced incidents of Covid-19 among staff members, resulting in temporary closures for decontamination purposes, self-isolation and even some deaths. Staff capacity is being affected due to comorbidities, vulnerability due to age and family commitments due to schooling or after-care limitations. As a result, some of the teams undertaking essential services have been understaffed, resulting in backlogs in clearing sewerage blockages, burst water pipes and so on. With regard to the collection of blue and green bags, the contractor withdrew from the tender due to the constraints placed on that company as a result of Covid-19. The appointment of a new service provider is in process and the tender has already been advertised on 17 September 2020. In the meantime several temporary solutions were put into practice with mixed results.
The decision was taken that the municipal teams who already know the routes would run two trips daily; this due to the fact that the blue bags cannot be compacted with the black bags. A number of unprotected strikes have unfortunately also arisen resulting in additional disruptions.
In the case of motor vehicle registrations and drivers’ licences, there continues to be a significant backlog experienced countrywide due to the closure of offices for three months and the subsequent restrictions of access to offices under Level 1 regulations. A number of measures including extended collection hours and online payment options have been put in place to ease the process where possible.
The combination of the above has also negatively affected levels of supervision as some managers have been unable to have sufficient onsite presence.
The municipality is also having to address serious budgetary deficits created by Covid-19, a situation nobody could have foreseen and which all municipalities in South Africa are faced with. The financial impact results from a combination of a reduction in monthly billings, lower debtor payment rates, lower levels of sundry revenue and extraordinary expenditure. Despite the challenges, George Municipality remains a high functioning institution with a revenue collection rate of average 85% currently and which prior to Covid-19 was at 96% . We are hopeful that the situation will resolve itself and we are constantly reviewing any and all challenges in terms of service delivery and budgetary constraints going forward within our municipal mandate. I can assure the public that all of these aspects are being addressed to ensure that service delivery returns to the high standards expected by the public.
We take note that the George Herald receives complaints from the general public about service delivery related matters, although the public and the media is regularly provided with the correct complaint channels to follow for the various matters. The municipality is currently servicing a population of roughly 220 000 (193672 STATSSA 2011 Census), which totals approximately 50 442 households, and George remains a fast-growing city. Complaints around service delivery are to be expected in a city this size which is constantly expanding. The administration of George however assures the public of our ongoing commitment to the core values we stand for and the delivery of services which fall within the scope of our mandate.