Consumers demand answers from council

From uncollected refuse, prolonged power outages, long grass, and potholes that still plague residents to overflowing sewers, service delivery has gone from bad to worse.

A Mayberry Park resident said residents are upset about the ‘non-compliance and unethical’ service delivery in the area.

“Again, our bins have not been cleared since January 19. As residents, we are sick and tired of the non-delivery of services for which we pay. Every week we hear about the trucks that are broken down and our area does not get serviced. I pay for two bins which amount to almost R500 a month. I demand a refund,” she said.

In a letter to the mayor, one resident said: “I have lived in Alberton for over 20 years and have been a taxpayer for longer than that. As taxpayers, we pay for electricity, water, refuse removal, road maintenance, street lights, public area grass cutting and a host of other necessary services, but we do not receive them.”

A list of issues and responses from the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE):

Overflowing sewers

Answer from the CoE: no specific problem is reported, except for a general remark of overflowing sewers. Complaints must be recorded in detail on the official complaint management system to be attended to as soon as possible by teams.

Potholes

Answer from the CoE: please note that Alberton roads depot services three customer care centres (Alberton, Katlehong2, Thokoza) with more than 40 townships. We share our limited resources to patch the potholes around all these townships.

Refuse removal

Answer from the CoE: the city continues to experience a high rate of vehicle breakdowns, resulting in it not being able to collect refuse as per the refuse removal calendar. However, the city ensures that waste is collected in the same week. The Environmental Resource and Waste Management Department, together with the Fleet Management Department, is ensuring that the vehicle breakdown and turnaround in repairing time is improved.

There is daily communication with the ward councillors through the customer relation management office regarding interruptions concerning waste management in Alberton.

Ongoing traffic violations – Swartkoppies and the R59 onramp

Answer from the EMPD: officers are deployed and patrol daily on Swartkoppies Road. Swartkoppies is one of our main and strategic routes in Alberton. Fines are issued almost daily at intersections into Swartkoppies Road. The R59 freeway is monitored and patrolled by our Freeway Unit.

Illegal dumping

Answer from the CoE: the city has identified illegal dumping hot spots in Alberton and is attending to them in line with the programme that is in place.

Power issues

The City failed to respond to queries about the power crisis, one of the biggest issues in Alberton.