Year-end message from Ward 115 councillor
FOURWAYS - Ward 115 councillor Chris Santana recently reflected on the year’s events and shared his year-end message.
According to Santana, the year began with the flooding of the Klein Jukskei River in early February and repairs to the Platina Road bridge remain problematic as the City of Johannesburg has yet to resolve it.
He added that other related stormwater issues have once again been escalated to members of the mayoral committee, who are responsible for the resolution of these problems and developing policies to address and avoid these kinds of failings.
“I have had success in initiating a stormwater assessment plan from the City of Johannesburg and have been assured that the Johannesburg Roads Agency will implement the plan. I still await the release of the plan and the City of Johannesburg’s priority status per region and ward,” Santana expressed.
“Residents along the Klein Jukskei River were the most affected and all responded by becoming actively involved in addressing some of the root causes of the consistent blockages against the bridges,” he said.
“This led to months of ongoing clearing of debris, cutting back of alien evasive trees and showcasing how effective private business, community and municipal-owned entities can work together – and a big thank you to each and everyone who made a difference and got involved.”
Santana stressed that illegal dumping is a citywide crisis and many of our streets and other open spaces have become characterised by piles of rubble and rubbish, and widespread litter, in general, which has introduced health risks to the people and have brought down the reputation of the community.
“We need visible, consistent and effective Metro police law enforcement in order to halt the decay of our city. This is a unanimous call from city councillors to the members of the mayoral committee. Let us hope we will see an improvement next year,” he concluded.
Details: csantana@ward115.co.za
