Irked residents burnt tyres to attract authorities attention
ALEXANDRA – Region E 'unblocks' access route to East Bank homes.
East Bank residents recently burnt tyres on Lenin Drive to draw the City authorities’ attention to a blocked access route to their homes.
DA PR councillor Shadrack Mkhonto said he was called in to douse the ‘fires’ prompted by years of alleged neglect of the complaint by 200 affected households. “I, in turn, drew regional director Liziwe Ntshinga-Makoro to the matter which dates back to 2014 and forces the residents to access their homes through a longer route after a shorter and direct one was blocked by some residents who extended the boundaries of their homes into a city park.”
Mkhonto said successive city authorities seemingly ignored the residents’ many petitions on the matter and the building control unit reneged on enforcing building by-laws. He said, “The residents were initially let to pass through homes but this stopped, leaving them in the lurch when developments by the sympathetic homeowners also blocked the shorter access route.”
Mkhonto said after he discovered in the areas’ layout plan that the snatched land should have been their access route, the director’s office was bolstered. “It has committed to act to the residents’ anticipation through convenient and easy access to their homes.”
He disputed claims said to be by the land snatchers alleging that they had bought the land, calling on them to provide evidence. “This will assist council and government in the ongoing investigation of the thorny issue of land grabs besetting the township, city, province and nation.”
According to Mkhonto, resolution of the issue will also solve the problem of access to the homes by the police and the emergency management unit when called on emergencies. The matter also brought into action, the Joburg Roads Agency which committed to correct misspelt road names in the areas which contributed to delays in locating those calling for emergency services.
He urged the City officials not to delay attending to petitions to discourage communities protesting and sometimes, damaging other public infrastructure in the process.
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