The Democratic Alliance believes that owls alone are not enough to fight Alex’s rat infestation.
The Gauteng Member of the Provincial Legislature, and head of the Alexandra constituency, Mervyn Cirota, said the plans by the City of Johannesburg to curb the rat infestation were futile.
“Using owls to combat the problem will simply not do enough to significantly reduce high breeding rates, and further, R2.5 million remains a meagre amount when dealing with an infestation of this magnitude,” he said.
Cirota said this meant that either the city had not yet grasped the extent of the infestation, or they were merely paying lip-service. “As such, the DA in Alex has embarked on an extensive door-to-door campaign to determine the true nature and extent of the problem,” said Cirota.
“We can only tackle this issue effectively when we know exactly what we are dealing with. Unfortunately the City does not appear to be taking this issue seriously, or acting to curb it fast enough with the correct measures.”
Cirota said it could only be solved with better funding and a more holistic strategy which looks at the root causes, such as the need for better sanitation and sewage services. “We need to act swiftly before the long-term consequences and declining hygiene become irreversible and extremely costly,” he urged.
