Residents raise concerns at Imbizo

KATLEHONG – Ekurhuleni Mayor, Clr Mondli Gungubele and the city manager, Khya Ngema, visited Katlehong and Vosloorus for the Mayoral Imbizo that followed a walkabout by the Mayor and senior city officials.

This walkabout is part of the Back to Basics Programme which aims to close the gap between service delivery and community needs. Ward councillors of the affected wards were present to ensure that people knew who were responsible to represent them and their problems in council.

During the Imbizo community members raised their main concerns which included human settlement problems and the Thina Sonke housing projects which have not been handled to the satisfaction of the community. People have been waiting for houses since 1994.

Hostel dwellers also voiced issues related to housing such as the non-spending of the repairs and maintenance budget at the hostels and the absence of planning to upgrade the hostels.

The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) was criticised for the process and implementation of planned evictions at the hostels. The community highlighted issues of public safety and emphasized that there has been an increase in crime and that faulty street lights were a contributing factor.

The community informed the Mayor and his team that patrollers in the urban marshal program are not being paid and this is seriously affecting their commitment to public safety and working with other law enforcement agents to reduce crime. Problems with the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) which go hand in hand with much needed development in the area and employment opportunities, were also raised. According to residents the lack of development and employment results in the increase in crime.

August is women’s month and the plight of women enjoyed much attention and concerns were raised about grandmothers and daughters that are raped. The community also expressed concern about people and children who go missing and wanted to know how they could benefit from the Minthiro Ya Vula Vula program as Ekurhuleni procurement practice does not favour local business.

The Mayor advised that targeted procurement would benefit locals and is specifically aimed at youth, women and people with disabilities. This program would also support community initiatives to reduce unemployment and related problems of gangsterism and drugs. The community agreed that drugs are a problem, especially among the youth and indicated that nyaope and dagga are freely available in areas where youth are present.

The Mayor informed residents that the Human Settlements Department is currently planning to address the housing needs of Kathorus and the southern region of Ekurhuleni. Metro officials informed residents that there were currently not enough suitable land to build houses and therefore the Metro is in the process of buying suitable land for the development of sustainable human settlements in the next five years.

Officials also informed residents that money was being allocated in the 2015/2016 budget to address the service delivery needs of the community. The Mayor advised the community that the hostels will be upgraded and fixed within the framework of the budget. Residents were also informed that EMM will pay door to door visits as part of the Back to Basics Program to get information on residents’ needs and to meet their service delivery expectations.