The City of Ekurhuleni said it is aware of the high number of complaints with regard to overgrown vegetation in open public spaces, and it assures residents that the delegated department will be attending to all maintenance requests.
The issue was raised after a number of residents of Ekurhuleni, including Boksburg and Benoni, lodged numerous complaints with regard to overgrown vegetation in open public spaces in their respective neighbourhoods.
A number of readers contacted these publications via emails and social media complaining about the lack of maintenance in several parks and open spaces. In some places grass had grown to almost a metre high. These include public parks, open veld and road verges.
Those who logged maintenance requests expressed their frustration at the fact that it took the metro so long to attend to their complaint, with others saying the metro didn’t even bother to give them feedback.
Turning the tide against grass-cutting backlog
In response to media enquiries sent to the municipality, a spokesperson for the metro, Solly Mashabela, said: “We are aware of the high number of complaints, and the City is turning the tide in its efforts to deal with grass-cutting backlog. The delegated department is working hard to resolve the complaints.”
The City apologises for the inconvenience caused to its customers, and it urges its residents to be patient and bear with it during this busiest time of the year.
“Due to the festive season break and the amount of rainfall received during December and January, there is a backlog with regards to horticultural maintenance and arboriculture maintenance across the City of Ekurhuleni,” explained Mashabela.
He stated it is a norm every year to have these kinds of backlogs between January and March.
“In recent years, this period of the year has recorded more severe rainfall accompanied by high temperatures, which is attributed to the changing weather patterns. Vegetation thrives in these conditions,” he said.
According to the metro, the service providers appointed for cutting grass are working in areas allocated to them, while internal teams are also doing horticultural maintenance.
Maintenance schedules will be available at the City’s customer care centres, where the community can access them. The schedule, seen by the Advertiser, shows when the next scheduled cut is in the different listed areas.
Affected public spaces
Among the affected areas in Boksburg are Boet Human Park, several parks and road verges in Impala Park, Witfield, Bardene and many other Boksburg areas.
Reader Colette Wessels contacted us on January 20 with pictures showing the vegetation and grass in Boet Human Park in Beyerspark had overgrown.
She said she and fellow residents had been struggling to get the municipality to cut the grass, adding that overgrown trees are also not being pruned and broken branches are lying all over.
“It is totally overgrown and the park is becoming a security risk. I have sent various emails to the municipality, but nothing has happened. This can be a lovely space and people use it to walk their dogs and exercise, but it is one big eyesore,” said Wessels.
Connie Mocke, a Bardene resident, appeals to the relevant authorities to cut the overgrown grass verge on View Point Road and clean the area immediately.
Another resident, Kerry Coetzer, contacted us and complained about the lack of maintenance of several parks and road verges in Impala Park. He said: “We cannot be expected to wait and wait for the municipality to turn up one day and do their job. Besides, the fact that the unkempt parks and pavements are unsightly, it poses a danger too. The grass in the parks in Impala Park is so long that you will not see someone hiding in it until it is too late.
“We are told we must not cut the municipal trees. I would have to agree as it is the job of the municipality to maintain what is theirs. Some of the trees in the parks have not been trimmed for many years. We are only left with the option to trim them ourselves to get rid of eyesores on our doorsteps,” said Coetzer.
Bombarded with complaints
Meanwhile, Ward 32 Clr Marius de Vos said he and fellow ward councillors are bombarded with complaints about lack of grass-cutting in public spaces on a daily basis.
“It’s unacceptable that many parks have become unusable due to lack of maintenance and neglect. We have also noted that even the teams that are now being sent out to cut the grass in some areas are not doing it properly, as they do not have the brush-cutters to mow the edges of the parks and road verges.
“This is a clear indication that there is lack of supervision and that the supervisors are not conducting any inspection. They just don’t care,” said de Vos.
Do you have a concern about the length of grass in public spaces in your neighbourhood? Please email us pictures to faniem@caxton.co.za
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