This is an open letter to the mayor.
Send your letters to bctletters@caxton.co.za
I am concerned about the decay of Benoni in general and the future of our once treasured city “The Jewel of the East”.
Roads are deteriorating at an alarming rate.
Take almost any road, when were these last tarred or serviced?
Take the pavements along Great North Road as an example: they are rarely cut, whilst the grass grows and rubbish gathers on the kerb stones.
The middle islands are neglected and messy, just look at the intersections between the highway along Tom Jones Street.
There are a myriad of examples in the inner city too.
Please take a walk through the Benoni Plaza.
Would you take your guests and friends there for a snack?
The Benoni Town Hall – once a posh venue – looks embarrassingly shabby; the gardens once revered for their beauty now look equally dilapidated.
The rates and taxes buildings are tired and shabby.
What has happened to the developments that were announced off Snake Road, and the Benoni Mega Mall?
Nothing has happened with the refurbishment of the town hall.
Why is there no progress?
What needs to be done?
Who needs to be petitioned to get them up and running?
Mr Mayor and fellow councillors, why is there no action and fierce promotion of Benoni to place the city into a position where people want to stay and continue staying?
What are the plans to make Benoni a better working and living environment and what are the plans to make it work better?
Why do other surrounding cities seem to prosper with development?
Crime would appear to be spiraling out of control in South Africa.
These new developments will create work opportunities, additional revenue streams and investments which will surely mitigate crime related to poverty and desperate people who believe they have no other alternative.
The Benoni Mega Mall is said to give rise to about 22 000 direct and indirect jobs.
This means no doubt tens of thousands more people would benefit – their lives would improve.
Please do the following:
• Inform us who the contractors are appointed in Benoni to keep our city maintained and list their key performance responsibilities?
In this way residents can assist in ensuring they deliver.
• What needs to be done to get the investment off the ground for the Snake Road development, and Benoni Mega Mall? Why do Boksburg, Kempton Park and Brakpan seem to be the only cities around Benoni where new large-scale developments take place?
• What are the plans, milestones and strategies for Benoni to ensure that it becomes the “Jewel” again?
Lastly, there would appear to have been a disproportional amount of effort to develop the area around the Benoni Country Club.
Few will gain from this in reality and an established green area would be diminished.
In comparison, other large scale benefits for the city, like the Benoni Mega Mall and the effort to push for this officially, seems sorely lacking given the enormous long-term beneficial returns for Benoni, from job creation, increase in revenue and long-term prosperity.
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