Delmore Park councillor refutes claims of not helping residents
They want the councillor to work with them to keep their area clean.
The residents of Delmore Park decided to clean their neighbourhood on January 21, after what they say were failed attempts to get their ward councillor to help with service delivery queries.
Resident Charlene Pienaar said they saw it as their responsibility to clean the environment because they can’t get hold of their councillor, Ashley Hoods.
“We cleaned our area last year as well. Our councillor made promises to fast-track service delivery in only one meeting that he attended since he was elected.The meeting was organised by the community,” she said.
Pienaar said they feel as if they don’t have a councillor because simple things like cutting grass and street light repairs do not happen.
Charona Louw, the initiator of the cleaning campaign, said if their councillor fails to do his work, they have no choice but to do it for him.
“We cleaned our area to redeem our people’s dignity. Last year, we complained about the long grass and they promised to cut it. That never happened. Things are worsening in our area,” expressed Louw.
According to Ward Councillor Hoods, claims that he is nowhere to be found when needed are “utter rubbish”.
“In the past few months, the city has rolled out several projects across Ward 33. Roads have been tarred, especially in Delmore Gardens,” he said.
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“Pedestrian paving was added and part of Lower Boksburg Road was resurfaced. There is also a private housing development underway in the area.
“Many unemployed persons have received temporary employment and small businesses received an opportunity to also benefit from the developments around the area.”
He said none of developments would’ve happened without his personal involvement as the ward councillor.
“These are just some of the things that consume my time and attention as a councillor. I also receive many queries and requests from Delmore Gardens residents privately and I assist all of them as best as I can.
“Just recently in Delmore Park, we had a municipal open day where many of the City’s service delivery departments and others came to inform people about their services,” explained Hoods.
He added that the residents were encouraged to use reporting tools to report incidents of service delivery interruptions.
“There have been many major service delivery interruptions, like a power outage, water interruption or sewer overflows, that I’ve personally assisted the community members with,” Hoods concluded.
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