Councillor sets out to improve service delivery to Alex residents

A councillor has urged for collaboration beyond political affiliation and ward boundaries in their service to the community.

This was said by Democratic Alliance (DA) proportional representative councillor Shadrack Mkhonto.

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He claimed to receive countless requests for assistance from poor residents without resources to bury their dead, put food on the table or for solutions to challenges including repair of broken pipes spilling sewage on the street risking the community’s health. Also, this amid accusations by residents of some councillors lacking urgency when asked for assistance and also following suspicions that some City officials reneged on their duty allegedly with the connivance of some leaders as a strategy to project current city administration as a failure.

Mkhonto said he had to cut short his holiday to come resolve a problem of sewage leaking from several manholes and power failure on 20th Avenue which resulted in running battles and use of rubber bullets between Metro police and protesting residents resulting in the injury of some residents.

“The matter could have been resolved quickly if residents, councillors and City officials had committed to repair the damage on time. We need to be sincere and trust each other to fully represent all residents as most of the challenge crosses boundaries,” Mkhonto said.

According to Mkhonto, the sewage and electricity problems were resolved within days after residents had been injured, council resources expended through Metro police – which could have been put to better use elsewhere – and anger resulted in loss of trust between residents and leaders which will be difficult to rebuild.

A resident impacted by the problem, Selinah Sephogo urged councillors to not rebuff residents seeking help to avoid incensing them and to put more pressure on City officials to do their work timeously.

Sephogo said, “Mkhonto’s intervention with other leaders like Otto Keletsane and Peter Lebeyane helped control the anger among residents who blocked roads affecting other services and ensured City officials completed the work early January after months of unbearable stench and the dark and dangerous streets at night.”

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Sephogo also blamed residents for causing the blockage with bricks, plastic and other household waste material removed from the pipes and for illegal electricity connections and theft of copper cables which caused power outages. “We now have a collective agreement to clean the street on weekends and want the initiative to spread to other residents to avoid problems from their areas affecting us.”

Details: Shadrack Mkhonto 079 444 1464.

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