Councillor speaks about challenges faced

Under the current administration of the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), as much as ward councillors try, it is difficult to maintain the status quo, let alone improve wards.

This was said by Clr Alison van der Molen, of ward 118, when asked if there was an improvement or not in her ward over the past year when compared to the previous year.

However, she said she will not give up on trying to make ward 118 a better place to live.

She said some of the problems experienced over the past year included illegal developments in the ward.

“The planning control department remains an enormous problem and illegal development continues unabated. The revenue collection department and its inability to resolve the majority of billing queries sent to them resulted in residents being disconnected without any of the required warning, which is a nightmare. Some of the Municipal Owned Entities (MOEs) are under enormous budget constraints. They are expected to produce a silk purse from a sow’s ear. Other officials, such as a particular person from the councillor’s help desk in revenue who was caught trying to solicit a bribe, hampers the system for everyone. I have also been given disturbing information about the amount of money some people are prepared to pay to have illegal buildings rezoned. While officials accept such bribes, problems will persist,” said Clr Van der Molen.

Presently there are a number of residents in areas such as Cyrildene and Malvern who are complaining about illegal buildings. They also question how some property owners were given rezoning rights.

When asked if she tried to resolve these problems, Clr Van der Molen said, “I am constantly liaising with officials, some one-on-one, others through forums such as the Region F Councillors’ Forum, and Section 79 committees. When insufficient budget is allocated because the city is unable to run its revenue department efficiently, it does become difficult to address problems. Persistence, never letting an issue go and having supportive residents and business associations to assist goes along way. Preserving the infrastructure we have would also go a long way. “

Malvern

Malvern is a hotspot for hijacked houses, overcrowding, illegal electricity connections and businesses. Clr Van der Molen believes that some council departments, such as City Power, have tried to address problems but the problems have grown beyond control. “Members of the mayoral committee tend to focus on the Johannesburg CBD, which displaces problems into the surrounding areas. There is no visible plan, despite raising concerns all the time, in place to deal with the chaos that exists. This causes failing infrastructure, illegal dumping, increased crime rates and so forth,” she said.

She urged residents to take ownership of their areas and become active citizens. She said people should provide authorities with information regarding illegal activities. The EXPRESS forwarded an enquiry to the CoJ. At the time of going to print, no comment was received.