Westville Ratepayers association inviting the community to join the association

THE Westville Ratepayers Association (WRA) is calling on the community of Westville to join forces with them as they embark on the legal route of fighting for service delivery. Formed in December 2021, the group of 300 members formed this alliance initially for Ward 30, but later on, included the entirety of Westville.

According to the association, they engage with the municipality on their monthly meetings where they table and discuss service-delivery issues.
With currently 300 members, the association is calling on more residents so they can intensify their force as they fight for their constitutional right to service delivery. Vincent Naidoo, the treasury of WRA, said it is only fair for them to go the legal route as the municipality is not owning up to their role.

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“The residents of Westville pay rates, and in turn, the municipality ought to provide us these services. The rates we pay are based on the value of our properties, therefore the services we receive, based on the amount of rates the suburb contributes to the City, ought to reflect this. It is absurd that the suburb of Westville is receiving poor service delivery, while another suburb, that does not even contribute half of what Westville contributes, gets far better services,” said Naidoo.
The association emphasised that the lack of service delivery is a discouragement to the efforts they have made for their community since their inception.

Dave Boardman, who is the deputy secretary, said he has been back and forth in communication with the municipality about fixing infrastructure that was damaged during the floods.
“There are a lot of bridges that were damaged during the April floods, and till this day, they have not been fixed. They have recently placed danger tapes, and that was after a big fight. Our roads have become a danger zone for drivers, residents and children,” he said.

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Apart from this, Boardman said the municipality is failing to implement their own services and maintenance plan. “This has been ongoing for several years as can be noticed by the many broken, ‘fused’ street lights and unkempt verges and parks. Also by the overgrown trees, fallen or broken street signs, damaged roadways, unpainted street markings, dirty stormwater systems and dirty verges on the M13 and M19, littered with debris. Including poor safety and security measures by SAPS and Metro for the residents and their properties,” he said.

The WRA expressed how the lack of service delivery is impacting them. “Many of these issues have a direct impact on our quality of life, and in some instances, in the case of the dirty stormwater system, has led to the loss of property. This attitude of the municipality to ignore these basic services also infringes on our constitutional right to a good quality of life. Westville residents have had a high standard, and the rates we pay are based on this standard,” they said.
The association said they have already engaged with a team of legal experts, and they are ahead in their discussions about the next steps to take.

Furthermore, they will be hosting fundraising events to meet the financial expectations of legal engagement and would also appreciate the residents’ support.
“Our request is for all residents to join the WRA and allow us the opportunity to represent you, to fight the good fight on your behalf, to strongly voice your concerns, and to demand for the services that you as the ratepayer have been paying diligently,” they said.
To become a member, the annual cost is R120 a year.

The eThekwini Municipality was not available for comment by the time of publication.

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