Wychwood residents say city fails to resolve their issues

Wychwood residents are frustrated by the CoE closing tickets without a resolution.

The residents have regularly reported issues, but their tickets are closed before the matters are resolved.

Street leader Shelly Bainbridge said the city cancels tickets even though some jobs had not begun.

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She claimed it took the city seven days to respond and mend a live wire cable endangering Wychwood Primary School’s learners.

“The cables were left hanging and lying on the ground after a motorist struck and bent the pole. Primary school learners use the road. Residents eventually had to block off the area to prevent accidents.

“For seven days, two homes, including the school, had no electricity. Some cables from the box were left hanging when the technicians came to restore power. They later began to ignite and eventually caught fire.

“After the repairs were complete, our neighbour lost power because she was unconnected. Why were they unable to connect her? We are beginning to think the technicians are pulling a con on the city.

“Eleven people were on the scene when they arrived to fix the wire, but, eventually, just nine remained.

“They arrived after 15:00. We think they came late to put in more overtime should the issue not be settled in time.

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“The concerning frequency of home cable thefts is another problem.

“Despite their low value, these wires get taken constantly. We think a syndicate is responsible for it. Occasionally, they cut the wires rather than take them.

“We have to pay for stolen cables each time it occurs. On September 19, they took my cable, and I had to pay for it.

“The largest problem is that it still takes the city a week or longer to connect you, even after you have paid. It is absurd.”

According to Bainbridge, the council must look into its department and ensure the depots operate as they should.

“Access to the depots is no longer permitted for councillors. Since they are also in the dark, we residents give our councillors a hard time because we are desperate, and there is nothing they can do about it.

“Even after executing a job, the city neglects to rehabilitate the pavements. They leave them in despair for years, and we get fined if we choose to improve our pavements.

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“For the past two years, Lita [a resident] has reported that water is still streaming down her front yard, but they closed the cases without ever showing up. Some residents decided to hire a private technician,” said Bainbridge.

The GCN sent a request for comment to the CoE on September 19, requesting comment by September 20 at 13:00. By the time of going to print, we had received no comment.