Voicing grievances at IDP meeting
Power outages in Impala Park, lack of streetlights and ward councillors not conducting public participation meetings, were the three issues that were repetitively raised by residents during the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) public meeting, held on Wednesday April 23 at the Boksburg Civic Centre.
The public participation meeting with residents was held to address the proposed metro’s new tariffs, new valuation roll, credit control and indigent policies as well as budget proposals related to capital projects.
Mayoral Member of Committee (MMC) of Corporate and Shared Services, Clr Phelisa Nkunjana, said the meetings which have been held across Ekurhuleni were an opportunity for residents to influence how development in the metro should happen and which service delivery areas should be targeted by the budget.
The core services offered by the municipality, forming part of the budget, are roads and stormwater, water and sanitation services, electricity provision, waste removal and management, real estate, grass cutting and parks maintenance, sport, recreation, arts and culture and health services.
Nkunjana said a major challenge that the municipality was facing was low collection of rates and high and outstanding debt.
“Members of the community are not paying their rates for services on time,” she said.
Nkunjana also pointed out that there was a need for the metro to prioritise projects.
“While some want swimming pools or others want houses, the metro recognises that the community’s needs are more than just available resources; it is therefore necessary to prioritise,” she explained.
A presentation of the draft IDP and draft multi-year budget was presented where the current operating budget for 2013/14 is said to be R27.8-billion, and new budget for 2014/15 is set to be R28.9-bn (4.08 per cent increase).
According to the draft budget, some proposed tariff increases include assessment rates at 7.5 per cent on the tariff, electricity draft increase between 6.3 to 7.6 percent, water increase at 8.1 per cent for both residential and businesses, sanitation increase at 8.0 per cent for both residential and business, and for residential premises a solid waste increase average of 5.5 per cent.
Various proposed projects were put on the table for the next three financial years.
There was also during the evening a session for discussion, questions and inputs as well as for answers to be given where possible.
A resident from Ward 23 Impala Park complained that substations were not being maintained.
“I see the metro has marvellous plans and projects, so please direct some of these millions to our ageing substations,” he pleaded.
From Ward 33 an old lady told a story of how she’s been living in a shack since 1976 and has seen no progress in her area.
A young lady from the same ward said that where she lives the area is dirty, the roads are bad and that they don’t even enjoy basic services.
Other issues raised included clarity on how the IDP is prepared, land distribution, safety from drugs and crime and road maintenance in Ward 22.
A plea was made from Ward 92 for uninterrupted power supply.
A request for the Bonaero Park sewer system and the Impala Park electrical system to be included in the budget was a request from some of the residents.
A disgruntled resident from Ward 93 raised the issue of the controversial call centre, which he says is a project that the municipality embarked on without consulting community members.
Speed humps, potholes, development of sports grounds and recreation facilities, maintenance of open velds, lack of and non-working street lights, eradication of shacks and development of houses, are some of the other issues that were also raised during the meeting.
In her response to some of the issues raised, Nkunjana said the city has a responsibility to account for services rendered, as she apologised for the constant power failures in Impala Park.
She then spoke firmly to ward councillors who were not coordinating public meetings.
“We cannot be in your shoes in your various wards. A minimum of four meetings annually must be held in each ward. Some wards even have monthly meetings,” she pointed out.
She said the call centre would improve once the new agents commenced for duty in May and June respectively.
Chairperson of the Oversight Committee for Corporate and Shared Services, Nomvula Chiya, said every complaint would be attended to and that every community member who raised an issue in the meeting would be telephonically contacted to resolve their grievance.
Comments and suggestions can be sent to budgettips@ekurhuleni.gov.za before April 30.
