Clr Carlos da Rocha is taking the brunt of residents’ anger and frustrations regarding the lack of service delivery in Kensington.
He said he is being questioned about why Kensington is such a mess when other wards, run by other councillors, are running smoothly.
“I was also asked if the solution is to vote for someone else in the next election. One resident said that Observatory is in a better state than Kensington. I am the councillor for Observatory as well. Observatory has always looked good because residents do not dump as much as the people do in other suburbs and overcrowding and hijacked building problems are not rife.
“Any enclosed area will look better because of security guards and the fact that problems are handled differently,” said Clr Da Rocha.
He said he has received a number of complaints about service delivery problems and he is trying to address them.
Last week, Ms Sandy Reynolds highlighted various concerns to Clr Da Rocha on behalf of the Western Kensington Residents’ Association (WKRA).
She said Kensington has to be the dirtiest area in Gauteng.
“It is turning into a slum. It has never been this bad. Kensington has been reduced to one big rubbish dump. It is disgraceful and totally unacceptable. This is not an occasional thing. It is an everyday problem. Rubbish is everywhere and no action is being taken by the authorities,” she said.
She added that shacks are being built in the area and there is extreme overcrowding of houses.
“Most of these people seem not to care about the state of our neighbourhood. All this probably exacerbates the rubbish and sewage problem. Our infrastructure is not coping with these illegal activities,” said Ms Reynolds.
She said these activities are a concern because it impacts on property values and health.
“Where are our rights? What about bylaws and the enforcement of laws? We, the residents, and more importantly the ratepayers, should not have to resort to communications such as this one,” she said to Clr Da Rocha in an e-mail sent to him.
Ms Reynolds also sent him photographs of a number of problem areas in the suburb stating that he is the elected councillor.
“We would like to see the plan that is going to be put in place going forward, as well as regular report backs on progress in rectifying the situation. This has to be fixed. We pay for services. We have a right to live in a clean suburb,” said Ms Reynolds.
Clr Da Rocha told the EXPRESS that he understands residents’ frustrations and he has tried to get the relevant departments to take action.
“I have complained to authorities about these problems on a number of occasions. I have reported them at councillor forum meetings. I have said at these meetings that these complaints are falling on deaf ears.
“Every year at this time the whole of Johannesburg seems to go through a massive service delivery breakdown. Most of the staff working for the city council go on leave during the festive season,” he said.
He did add, however, that no service delivery concerns he receives are ignored by him. “I report all complaints and urge residents to report them as well. The more pressure on departments the better. I will continue to demand service delivery,” he said.
Clr Da Rocha hopes to meet with residents soon to discuss problem areas and to find solutions.
He said he will contact all the relevant departments and attempt to secure their attendance at a public meeting so answers to questions about the lack of service delivery can be answered by those who are responsible.
