Poor service delivery addressed during mayor’s visit
Ekurhuleni mayor Clr Mzwandile Masina was in Brakpan on Friday for a more hands-on approach to dealing with service delivery issues.
The Siyaqhuba Service Delivery Programme saw the mayor leading a team of city officials around Brakpan attending to service delivery challenges and witnessing problems firsthand.
The aim of the Siyaqhuba visits is to ensure that issues identified or raised by the community are attended to on-the-spot or within a reasonable amount of time.
DA councillor for Ward 97 in Brakpan, Brandon Pretorius, believes the visit was fruitful.
“The main goal for me was to show the mayor our beautiful town, which lacks maintenance and basic service delivery,” he said.
“I also used the opportunity to address the mayor about the lack of support from some of our local departments.
“This exercise had a positive outcome for the community as the mayor demanded answers on the spot while visiting the sites.”
The first stop on the mayor’s visit was the hyacinth-infested Brakpan Dam.
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“After giving the mayor the background information he agreed with me that other possible ways of addressing the matter must be looked at as the Watermaster is working at a very slow pace,” said Pretorius.
“It was agreed that a report must be compiled and submitted as the dam needs to be cleaned as soon as possible.”
Arriving at the old Brakpan Mall, Masina observed where the kiosks were recently demolished.
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The stalls, which became a haven for drug users and vagrants, were destroyed after a roof at the mall collapsed and two individuals were seriously injured.
It was confirmed that the site will be paved and closed off, restricting access to vehicles.
The mayor questioned the property’s future and commented it could be economically beneficial if utilised correctly.
Next to be visited was the town hall, which has been closed for several years.
It was mentioned that the hall was closed due to safety reasons and that the main concern was the leaking roof.
The department officials responded that the hall will be reopened in 2021, which Masina found unacceptable.
He stated that more money should be allocated to the department to ensure the hall opens sooner as it has been closed since 2014.
The delegation then proceeded to the park at the corner of Voortrekker and Boundary roads in Brenthurst, which Masina immediately noticed was overgrown.
“I then mentioned the community’s dissatisfaction with the state of our parks, the CBD, tree pruning and maintenance and continued street light outages within the town, especially along our two main roads,” said Pretorius.
“The mayor addressed the parks department and was quite firm that he was not satisfied.
“He also instructed the department to compile a report and provide a schedule.
“The mayor added it should include the maintenance of trees as I then again highlighted the huge backlog regarding this.”
Pretorius noted, however, that the energy department has replaced most of the streetlights along the two main roads.
Stopping at the newly renovated park along Gardiner Avenue, adjacent to the Brakpan Swimming Pool, Masina pleaded with the community to take ownership of the park and ensure the equipment does not get stolen.
The Plastic City informal settlement, Leachville and other areas were also visited.
Also read: Brenthurst to have its own ‘Plastic City’
“I thank the mayor for addressing the local departments about the lack of support,” said Pretorius.
“I also acknowledge the firm approach to the absence of service delivery and believe that work was done and will still be done not only because the mayor was present.
“I thank the mayor for visiting our town and working together in reaching our common goal, which is basic service delivery.
“I will keep on holding the mayor accountable as he is the highest authority and the buck stops with him.”
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