In an effort to keep residents up to date, Ward 38 councillor Malcolm Maifala hosts online sessions.
During his latest session, he touched on service delivery, thanked all essential workers for the work they are doing during the lockdown as well as thanking the ward committee, Brackenhurst Residents Association and officials for the work they are doing.
Maifala touched on some highlights the ward has enjoyed over the past four years.
Parks and recreation
“When the term started in 2016, Ward 38 had minimal to no development at its parks. Since 2016, today, all five parks in the area are fitted with more equipment as well as eco gyms.”
I do recognise that the upgrade of these parks not only yielded positive outcomes but in certain cases we had issues around litter, while I also raised the issue of needing ablution facilities and taps at one of the parks in the area.
“The challenges raised have been addressed in the following manner; in the first instance, I have requested that the parks department please conduct regular inspection of the parks. Furthermore, I have also requested that resident do proactively report any issues around the parks through the call centre or in case where safety or criminal activity is an issue, it is referred to either EMPD or SAPS.”
The park at Kalkoentjie Street needs ablution facilities as well as taps. While additions to the parks were exciting, there was an oversight from all involved, including myself.
“While at this stage ablution facilities are only found at regional parks, the metro has committed to motivating the need based on the development at these parks.”
While we are looking at the possible solutions, we are also now being proactive by considering any possible disadvantages of putting up ablution facilities at these parks.
Brackenhurst clinic
“At the beginning of the term, the clinic had two issues which needed attention; the first one was the operation of the mobile clinic and the other being the refurbishment of the roof at the clinic.”
Within a period of four months, through our efforts, we were able to have the mobile clinic operating in the area and reaching areas which need health care facilities. Among the areas included are Thinasonke and Roodekop Ext 31, which cover neighbouring wards.
“While initially the structural requests were attended to after they were placed on the IDP of the area, today the structure of the clinic remains an issue.”
Fortunately, the issues have been raised with the Real Estate Department which is expected to attend to the matters soon. Hopefully, after the lockdown, the department can get to work and address all issues identified.”
Brackenhurst library
“At the start of the term, just as was the case with the clinic, the library also needed an upgrade to the roof which was close to collapse. While this was not addressed immediately, it was ultimately attended to.”
The general maintenance at the library continues to be an area of concern, especially in terms of keeping the gardens clean. In this regard, we continue to speak to the relevant departments to assist with the general maintenance.
“It is disappointing that a motion to address the issue of regular maintenance was not accepted by the executive of council. It is my view that the library must be given direct resources to regularly maintain its property without depending on other departments.”
Water and sanitation
“For those of you who have been in the area for some time will be the first to share their unhappiness around the constant sewer overflows, especially around rainy seasons. While this has been a problem for a number of years we as the ward committee have kept it as a priority item on the IDP.”
Since the beginning of the term, the committee and myself continue to highlight the issues as urgent. It is through all of our efforts that today the City of Ekurhuleni has started taking steps to address the problem which continues to inconvenience residents on a regular basis.
“Although there has been a movement in that regard, my concern continues to be the slow progress being made. I am concerned that the city has only budgeted to address the issue only for the next financial year.”
I cannot stress enough the urgency of having our sewer infrastructure upgraded. For me this speaks directly to the health impact this may have should the city take its time in addressing.
“Even with the slow progress, we can all appreciate that after at least 12 years this item has been on the IDP, it is finally being attended to.”
8 Pongola Street property
“It is clear that while we have made notable strides towards addressing service delivery in the ward that we continue to have areas we can always improve on.”
A while ago, the condition of the historical house at 8 Pongola Street, Brackenhurst was highlighted. As things stand, the cleaning of the premises has been referred to the legal team to issue a notice to the owner of the property to clean his property.
“Should the owner not clean the property, the council can then intervene to clean the yard. However, before we even get there, the reality is that we need to exhaust all avenues available before council can act. This is because the property is owned privately.”
Energy and streetlights
“While we have had issues in recent past, electricity outages have not been as severe as other areas around Alberton.”
I understand the frustration residents have when faced with power outages and the lack of information or in some cases the inconsistency in the message being sent to you. The information I provides is fed through by the energy department and is usually relayed as soon as I receive it.
“The experience around the communication can be solved by council implementing the full functions of the call centre. At its maximum potential, I believe a call centre should be giving residents information about service delivery through an SMS system.”
I have identified the call centre as an area I need to persistently address with council. It is through the call centre where information can be better sent out to residents.
“My proposals to council will be to launch a system to constantly keep complainants informed about service delivery queries. Public participation and community involvement”
Since the beginning of 2016, I have always sought to encourage community participation, and by in large, together with the ward committee and Residents? Association, we have had success.
“We have successfully hosted the annual Bracken Family Day which has been a great way of bringing the community together and offer marketing opportunities.”
As part of interacting with the community on a regular basis, the Bracken Residents Info Page on Facebook was started for that very purpose. It is through this group we managed to introduce digital public meetings.
“We want to update the residents on the work done by the ward committee every month. Full details of meeting discussions are made available every month at the Brackenhurst Library for perusal.”
The meetings offer you the resident to interact live with the ward councillor as it would be the case with any other meeting, the only difference is that you can do all of this at the comfort of your own home.
“Towards the end of 2019, we launched the community clean-up days. It is thanks to the support of Rawson Properties that we are already starting to see the positive outcome of such an effort. I encourage everyone to get involved after lockdown has moved down the stages.”
Safety and security
“The safety of residents has always been a high priority.”
In advocating for safety in the ward, it has become important for me to support the efforts of Brackendowns SAPS. This was done through a number of ways, which include marches to promote the need to advocate for a community.”
Service delivery addressed
“I have spoken about embarking on a drive to address the road infrastructure in the ward.”
The questions referred to departments are yet to be responded to. However, the target remains that we would like to embark on a major resurfacing of roads in the ward.
“We need to get an idea of many streets we can get resurfaced by the end of June next year, so we can motivate for the rest of the streets to be completed hopefully by June 2022.”
The results of the survey also indicate that an overwhelming majority of the residents want to see the sewer infrastructure being attended to urgently. The city has proposed a budget for the upgrade of the sewer system in Ward 38 only for the following financial year.
“I will be writing to the finance office on behalf of the residents to have that prioritised for the financial year starting July.”
Conclusion
“As I look back, I realise we have a long way to go before we can celebrate our achievements. The aim is to always look for opportunities to improve.”
Residents must be given opportunities to be at the centre of service delivery. Council channels must be made available for you to demand the services you deserve.
As a councillor I want to help where I can to make that a reality.
“As we continue to observe the realities of the pandemic that has kept us indoors, I am reminded of the motto for the ward – ‘a community that stands together, wins.”
With this in mind, I want to encourage you to let us stand together by continuing to stay at home as we support the effort made to reduce the spread of the virus that has gripped the world.
“When it comes to food parcels, I would like to assist residents in getting assistance from local and provincial government structures. I have submitted names of families which require help in that regard.”
Any other mass assistance please do work together with the initiatives established by the Alberton HELP Forum, through Tannie Antoinette, phone number 084 812 6715 on how you can be part of the mass projects.”
Issued by councillor Malcolm Maifala – 061 540 4973
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