COMMUNITIES surrounding the Durban harbour have been dealt another blow after a motion calling on the City and province to deal effectively with logistic trucks using residentail roads to get to the harbour, was rejected by the Speaker at a meeting of council recently.
City councillors from Bluff, Clairwood, Umbilo, Austerville, Merebank, Merewent, Seaview, Bellair, Rossburgh and Montclair, who have been inundated with complaints from residents on the increasing usage of logistic trucks along restricted residential roads, joined forces to formulate a strategy to hold the City, the province and national government accountable.
The councillors said the illegal use of residential roads by truck drivers, who attempted to skip long queues at the harbour in order to meet their shipping deadlines, was mainly attributed to inefficiencies and the ineffective operating of the Durban harbour.
Together, the councillors collected more than 4 000 signatures on a petition demanding that the City deal with the issue.
Letters have also been written to the KZN MEC for Economic Development and Environmental Affairs as well as to the Head of Department (HOD) of KZN Transport.
Councillor JP Prinsloo, who spearheaded the petition, said four official questions and a motion were submitted to the the eThekwini council calling on the City to act on any illegal activity around the Durban Harbour.
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He said a motion requesting council to approve the allocation of additional resources to the Clairwood Metro Police trucking unit to decisively deal with the issue was disregarded by the Mayor of eThekwini, Mxolisi Kaunda, and Speaker of Council, Weziwe Thusi.
“Attempts where made to meet with and obtain the support of the mayor before the council sitting, but no meeting was ever confirmed by the mayor’s office. The Speaker of council rejected the motion on the basis that the facts presented to council were deemed as ‘disparaging or improperly made suggestions,’ which I feel is a complete farce and a method to sidestep the issue. It is unfortunate that the Speaker merely disregarded the plight of the more than 4 000 residents who have already signed the trucking petition, incorrectly insinuating that we made disparaging and improper suggestions,” said Prinsloo.
He said the councillors would not be discouraged in their efforts to address this situation and would resubmit all the unanswered questions and the rejected motion at the next full council meeting.
“We will also be writing to the various national ministers responsible for the Durban harbour and the infrastructure surrounding the port to provide us with an immediate solution to the illegal usage. Residents still have the opportunity to support our fight against the onslaught of logistical trucks in our residential areas by signing the trucking petition,” he said.
The petition is available online on Councillor Mmabatho Tembe’s Facebook page.
Hard copies of the petition can also be emailed to residents that do not have access to Facebook. Email bluffservicedelivery@gmail.com.
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