This in respect to service lanes and facilities emerging in Ward 116 where ward councillor Monde Mbingeleli and committee member Ruth Mhlongo said it was part of the area’s integrated development plans.
Mbingeleli said the developments will only be of value to the community and last if residents appreciated and maintained the infrastructure well.
The developments include two new cubicle toilets, with 40 to be constructed in every ward of Alexandra.
The structures are made of concrete to make them last and will replace the corrugated iron type which are destroyed by rust over time.
New street lighting will improve night visibility and reduce crime and housebreakings. Mhlongo said this has reduced the work of patrollers with residents able to leave home for work in the early morning without having the fear of being mugged.
New bricked pavements which stop dust getting into homes and also water stagnating and causing mud in the roads. Mhlongo said car washers co-operated with a communal agreement not to use hose pipes, but rather buckets to stop water waste and water running down and weakening the new pavements and roads.
Other developments include concrete benches on pavements with built in games for residents and visitors to entertain themselves. Concrete dustbins on pavements are a new addition to household bins and will be used by residents and travellers to deposit waste and reduce dumping.
Mbingeleli said the developments will spread to other wards as part of holistic area development which for now excluded housing in inner Alex, which is still subject to inconclusive land claims.
He urged residents to actively maintain and protect the infrastructure from vandalism. “They should take part in community meetings where development projects are identified and approved.”
This he said in reference to a few hundreds who attend meetings in a ward with a population of 17 000. “Residents are apathetic and only complain when things they expect are not implemented.”
Mbingeleli also urged residents to develop a communal spirit and to be each other’s protectors against housebreaking and theft of vehicles, clothes from washing lines and other public property theft by nyaope users or other criminals.
“Report the users and dealers of the drug who have been criminalised,” he said. Mbingeleli also urged for the strengthening of law enforcement to curb crime.
Details: Councillor Monde Mbungeleli 082 464 2946.
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