Musgrave substation a security hazard and eyesore

A MUSGRAVE resident has come up with a challenge for the city. Meyerick Rubin says he has grown despondent over the city's lack of response to reports and complaints of poor service delivery. .

The latest in a list of complaints concerns the substation on Kilburn Avenue which he says has become overgrown and is full of weeds. “I've reported it and only get reference numbers, which are worthless because they mean nothing. They can never give you an estimated time in which to attend to the problem. The substation has not been cleaned or had the grass cut in months. It's ugly and on our doorstep, but besides being an eyesore, it is also a health hazard because it could be a breeding ground for rodents. It is a security hazard as criminals can hide in the high weeds and bushes because there is also a huge hole in the fence,” he said.

While Rubin understands the municipality isn't aware of all service delivery issues, he is confidant he might have a solution. “I suggest eThekwini municipality give their staff and contractors working around Durban an incentive for reporting problems they find. “Whether it's overgrown weeds around a substation, or a tree trunk left lying on the side of the road after being chopped down by the parks Department. or one of many water leaks which seem to be plaguing the Musgrave area in recent weeks, municipal staff who spot these problems should take it upon themselves to report them,” he said.

“In the past the municipality did not wait for us residents to report problems, they had staff concerned about service delivery attend to them. Today, there is no vested interest in the community, staff are contracted to do one job and never work holistically, always leave once they've done their part and leave a job unfinished for another department to attend to. Even councillors don't seem to drive around and and see the problems in the area, but wait for residents to report it to them. All councillors should be responsible for their area and go to council meetings equipped on what the problems are in their community,” he added.

Rubin challenged the City manager to implement his suggestion in order to improve service delivery across eThekwini. He added that this holistic approach would see work completed and not left unattended for months on end.