Councillor speaks out over successes, challenges
“There were several power outages last year due to overloading, cable theft and infrastructure problems. Considering the circumstances, City Power’s service was exceptional".
Although Clr Carlos da Rocha had a good year, he said fighting for service delivery was hard work and there were several challenges.
He recently stated that several departments either pulled their weight or attempted to resolve problems.
“Johannesburg Water (JW) did an exceptional job. There were several complaints of stolen meters and water was running faster than JW could attend to the problem. They did, however, do the best they could considering their limited manpower. I am, however, concerned about some of the workmanship and will be taking this up. JW will also be replacing more of the old meters this year.
“There were several power outages last year due to overloading, cable theft and infrastructure problems. Considering the circumstances, City Power’s service was exceptional. City Power has also been given a budget to upgrade its infrastructure,” said Clr Da Rocha.
He said he understands the grass is long and that people are angry with City Parks, but the entity cannot be blamed. “The rain contributed to grass growing faster. However, City Parks attended to complaints. Officials also did what they could, following public meetings at which residents raised concerns about the lack of safety in local parks and open spaces.
“The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) addressed safety concerns in North Avenue, Berea and Gordon roads in the Judith’s Paarl and Bertrams area. The traffic calming measures implemented have slowed down traffic on these roads. There are more measures that can be implemented on these roads and I will push for them this year,” he said.
Clr Da Rocha said that although the JRA has a small budget, officials do the best they can.
He said his biggest achievement over the past year was securing council’s decision to upgrade and restore the Rhodes Park swimming pool. The work began at the end of last year.
“This upgrade means a lot to residents and council put a lot of money aside for the restoration,” said Clr Da Rocha.
He did, however, encounter problems with departments such as Pikitup, town planning and urban management and the call centre.
“Pikitup did a satisfactory job. Pikitup can improve its service to the community. Workers can do their jobs in a tidier manner. I will be communicating more with the town planning and urban management departments. People continue to build illegally and operate illegal businesses. This is leading to the deterioration of certain areas. There has to be fast and strict action against these people,” said Clr Da Rocha.
He hopes to have a better working relationship with the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) this year. “They attend to complaints but not soon enough. The implementation of the Joburg 10 Plus programme means that two officers should be in the ward at all times. They need to attend to complaints immediately. If they respond to an illegal dumping complaint hours later for example, the perpetrator may be difficult to trace. He commended the community for its assistance over the past year. He said residents who stood together and fought against lack of service delivery were the driving force behind improvements in the ward.
He urged residents to report illegal activities and those who are involved to stop. “There are people who do not care about the state of their surroundings. People dump, damage council infrastructure and steal water meters for example. This has to change,” he said.
