#ELECTIONS 2024 – SUBURB WATCH: VAN DYK PARK

"It’s like the people responsible for the road maintenance in the area are non-existent," said a resident.

April 2, 2024

Fanie Mthupha 3 minutes read

Residents of Van Dyke Park are calling on the metro to fix the pothole-ridden roads in the area.

As part of the Boksburg Advertiser’s Suburb Watch, our team zoomed in on Van Dyk Park to learn the good, the bad and the ugly.

The bad and the ugly
Residents said their biggest issue is lack of road maintenance, long turnaround time to fix damaged sewer lines running under the suburb, delayed grass-cutting in open public spaces, as well as the unreasonable delay in reopening the public swimming pool.

Residents pointed out that one of the most affected roads is the stretch of Mimosa Street between Barry Marais Road and Tambotie Street.
One of the concerned residents, Braam Peens, hit out at the metro saying as ratepayers they are not getting value for their hard-earned money.

“I drive in Mimosa Street daily between home and work and I’m always forced to dodge potholes. The name of Mimosa must be changed to ‘Gat’, because the whole stretch of road is riddled with potholes. It’s like the people responsible for the road maintenance are non-existent.”

Resident Leonie Harding lamented the poor state of the roads in the area.

Another resident, Leonie Harding, echoed Peens’ sentiments and she called on municipal workers to do their job.
“If it wasn’t for the guy who backfilled the holes with bricks, this road would have become impassable,” said Harding.
The Tsakani resident started repairing potholes in Mimosa Street at the beginning of the year after seeing how motorists have to dodge wheel-buckling potholes.

“We appreciate what the guy is doing for us, but it’s at the same time unacceptable that someone who is not getting any salary had to take matters into their own hands while there are people who are employed by the municipality and get paid salaries for not doing their jobs.

“The last time we saw municipal workers patching potholes here was many years ago. Even then they were doing it poorly because they would patch today and the holes open up a few weeks later.”
Harding also pointed out the city’s law enforcement agency’s failure to stop big trucks from using the residential street, particularly during peak hours.

Meanwhile, the residents of the former mine houses in Van Dyk Park lamented the municipality’s long turnaround time to attend to service delivery complaints in their section.
The area is besieged by recurring sewage spills caused by poorly maintained sewer drains, and the houses, which have seen better days, are barely visible because of the overgrown grass and shrubs in the open spaces.

The damaged sewer line has been releasing water straight into people’s home and the nearby streams for weeks now.

Grass and shrubs have taken over the open spaces along Mimosa Street next to the old mine houses.

The raw sewage overflow was first reported on March 9, and the delay in fixing it has resulted in sewage flowing into nearby homes and onto the streets before making its way to the nearby streams.
One of the community leaders in the old mine houses, Gcinumthetho Jijingubo, stated that there is a long-standing battle between the occupants of the mine houses and the metro over title deeds.

Gcinumthetho Jijingubo, a resident of the Van Dyk Park old mine houses, wants to see better service delivery in their area.

“I’ve been staying here for over 15 years. There are over 40 houses here and a couple of years ago the municipality wanted to throw us out to the street because they wanted to demolish these houses.
“We took this matter to court and we have all these years been fighting to remain here and receive title deeds for these houses.”

Resident Cwangco Jijingubo (25) said frustrations have grown over high youth unemployment in the area.
“We are going to vote in May, and I hope that the people we vote for will push for job creation for the youth,” said Jijingubo.

The good
Residents of the former mine houses said while they are not happy with the poor service delivery, they appreciate the metro making the effort to electrify the area and reconnect the water supply after the mine discontinued all the services when it left.
Despite all the service delivery woes, residents of Van Dyk Park are not just sitting back and waiting for the police to protect them against criminals or the municipality to improve their neighbourhood.
According to Community Patrollers Initiative (CPI) chairperson Anton Botha, the community boasts about 25 active patrollers who volunteer as first responders to over 1 000 households to any crises the community may face – from crime to injuries and electricity issues to vehicle crashes.

Members of the Van Dyk Park CPI committee. Back: Anton Botha (chairperson), Alida Jordaan (secretary) and Guillaume Jordaan (deputy chairperson). Front: Deon Pietersen (patroller), George Mouton, Johan van den Heever and Derick Mouton.

With the support of residents and donors, the CPI has set up a control room and cameras in hotspots, such as areas where cables get stolen regularly, and has 400 radios in homes in the area.
They recently also bought a firefighting trailer, which will enable the volunteers to fight the blaze while they wait for the fire department to respond.

George Mouton tests the Van Dyk Park CPI’s new fire trailer.

The CPI also plans to buy a tractor to mow sidewalks and open spaces in the community.
Ward 31 Clr Simangele Sabe may be contacted on 072 234 1025.

In the build-up to the elections on May 29, Boksburg Advertiser will be taking a closer look at “the good, the bad and the ugly” in some of our suburbs. Tell us what’s going on in your suburb! Email boksburgadvertiser@caxton.co.za with details and photos/videos.